Dealing in Futures: A Play in Three Acts

The drama unfolds in a Lancashire village over about twenty-six hours, tracking a prosperous manufacturer whose business calculations collide with family loyalties and community obligations. An assertive daughter, officious clerks, and a younger man from a rival household negotiate power and propriety while the younger man presses the employer for fair compensation after a sudden workplace death. An impending publication and its favourable notice threaten to bring public scrutiny to private decisions, intensifying debates about responsibility and reputation. Through concentrated domestic scenes, the work probes class tensions, the clash between profit and conscience, and generational differences in ethics and outlook.