The Chaste Diana

In the frosty winter of 1727, the bustling playhouse on Portugal Street becomes a micro‑cosm of London’s theatrical world. Mr. Rich, its shrewd manager, presides over a parade of hopeful singers, nervous dramatists and seasoned patrons, weighing each talent against the promise of a few guineas. His velvet coat and curled wig hide a keen mind that can make or break careers with a single glance.

The evening’s meeting gathers an eclectic troupe: the dashing American Prince, a self‑styled Lord Baltimore whose reputation as a rake precedes him, and the solemn Duke of Bolton, a powerful patron with a tangled marriage. Together they discuss a daring new production that could restore the house’s waning reputation, while wagers of money and pride hang in the balance. As rehearsals begin, backstage rivalries and whispered ambitions hint at the tangled dramas that will soon spill onto the stage.