Rock and Roll Reimagining for She Stoops to Conquer

Oliver Goldsmith's comedy reset in 1950s Britain


Fiona-Jane Weston

February 20, 2026

Pandora’s Box Productions launches its debut show this March with a reimagining of Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer, at the Tabard Theatre. The production transports the beloved 18th-century comedy to the charged social landscape of 1950s Britain.

Running from 4–7 March, this fresh adaptation promises a lively blend of mid-century glamour, post-war anxieties and timeless romantic mischief.

Director Lidia Cieniewska frames the play in a world of rock and roll, rigid etiquette and carefully curated respectability, sharpening the story’s themes of class performance and social pretence. At the centre is Kate Hardcastle, played by Luiza McDowell, whose quick wit and charm drive the plot’s chaos.

When the bashful Charles Marlow mistakes her for a maid, Kate seizes the opportunity to turn convention on its head, exposing the fragile codes of masculinity and status.

As the first production from the newly founded Pandora’s Box Productions, the show signals a commitment to female-led storytelling and inventive period reframing. The intimate 96-seat Tabard space should amplify the play’s quick-fire humour and romantic tension, offering audiences a close-up view of the flirtation, deception and mid-century sparkle that define this interpretation.

Expect satin, cigarette smoke, raised eyebrows and raised stakes as Restoration wit meets 1950s cool in a comedy that remains funny more than 250 years after it was written.

Cast: Roo Morris, Selina Patankar, Luiza McDowell, William Stanley Clark, James Hardy, Ed Whitehouse, Bylli Gomez, Roger Parkins, Kitty Jackson

Tickets cost £22.50 – enter promo code: GOLDSMITH26 for 20% off when booking.

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Tabard Named as London Pub Theatre of the Year

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