Woodbarrow Farm: Play in Three Acts

"Woodbarrow Farm: Play in Three Acts" by Jerome K. Jerome is a theatrical play written in the early 20th century. This comedy unfolds the life and dynamics of a rural farmhouse family, particularly focusing on the character of Allen Rollitt, who is navigating his newly acquired wealth and the changes it brings to his relationships and local community. The opening of "Woodbarrow Farm" introduces us to the daily life at the titular farmhouse, where Mrs. Rollitt and her niece Deborah prepare for the return of Allen, who has recently come into a fortune. The lively kitchen setting features humorous exchanges between the characters, including the straightforward Mrs. Rollitt, the dreamy Deborah, and the humorous Ichabod, who brings extra color to the conversation with his comedic attempts at romance and fishing. As the play unfolds, themes of love, ambition, and societal expectations begin to emerge, particularly as Allen grapples with the changes brought by his newfound status while maintaining connections to his roots and those he cares about. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889). Other works include the essay collections Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886) and Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow; Three Men on the Bummel, a sequel to Three Men in a Boat; and several other novels. Jerome was born in Walsall, England, and, although he was able to attend grammar school, his family suffered from poverty at times, as did he as a young man trying to earn a living in various occupations. In his twenties, he was able to publish some work, and success followed. He married in 1888, and the honeymoon was spent on a boat on the River Thames; he published Three Men in a Boat soon afterwards. He continued to write fiction, non-fiction and plays over the next few decades, though never with the same level of success.