Summary

In this one-act play of just 33 pages, a typical English couple, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, are in their armchairs after dinner. Mr. Smith is reading the newspaper; Mrs. Smith is darning socks. When the clock strikes nine o'clock, Mrs. Smith begins what appears, at first, to be normal chitchat. It is, and yet the playwright has taken it to an extreme. Mr. and Mrs. Smith only sound like they are making sense, but they don't. They contradict themselves and each other without seeming to be aware of it. They have a superficial quarrel and a superficial make-up.

Their maid, Mary, comes in from a day of shopping and announces that Mr. and Mrs. Martin are on the front porch. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had forgotten they invited them over, and for some reason, the Martins didn't ring the bell. The Smiths...