Oh! Susannah!

Bills in blue envelopes pass for letters from admiring patients in the opening of Mark Ambient's three-act comedy. At Doctor Sheppard's consulting room in Pimlico, Aurora fusses over her employer's belongings while the page, Tupper, worries about his unpaid clothes. Their banter introduces a medical practice short of customers and a household full of personal hopes. A wealthy aunt's promised allowance adds another reason for everyone to take an interest in the doctor's affairs.

Marriage soon complicates the business of earning a living. Sheppard's bride, Flora, struggles with jealousy when a letter arrives from a prospective patient, and the possibility of his aunt's arrival prompts an awkward attempt to conceal her. Quick exchanges, asides and detailed stage directions make the misunderstandings visible on the page. Readers interested in domestic farce can follow how money worries and affection turn an ordinary consulting room into a place of comic confusion.