None So Deaf as Those Who Won't Hear: A Comedietta in One Act

What happens when a deaf father can't hear his daughter's suitors, and a young man pretends to be deaf to get past him? This Victorian comedietta mines endless laughs from a simple premise: nobody in the room can communicate properly, and everyone suffers for it. Singleton Coddle has guarded his daughter Eglantine from the world so long that she's nearly dead from loneliness. He means well, but his deafness turns every conversation into a game of telephone gone wrong. When the dashing Washington Whitwell arrives, he makes a curious decision: he'll pretend to be deaf too, reasoning it will help him win Eglantine without her father's interference. But in a household where nobody listens carefully, his charade may not be the biggest deception in the room. The result is a sparkling farce of crossed wires, overheard whispers, and increasingly absurd misunderstandings. Curtis wrote this for Victorian drawing-room performers who delighted in verbal dexterity and physical comedy. The play suggests that true deafness isn't about ears at all, it's about refusing to listen to what matters most.