In the author’s introduction to The plays of John Whiting he says of the original version of A penny for a song: ‘It was written at a time of great personal happinnes, and by then it seemed natural that such a feeling should be expressed in a play. I was entirely uncritical of life as I was living it then, and the whole world seemed to be in love. War appeared the greatest absurdity.’ In this mood he evidently took delight in laughing at human folly and the atmosphere of the play is one of fun and charm. Nevertheless, John Whiting was accustomed to warn people of ‘the common error of believing that laughter is kind’, and when he revised the play in 1962 he did not intend it to be enjoyed merely as a charming romance. In the hilarious comedy, sometimes verging on farce, there is a satirical sting, and the play contains some intellectual discussion of serious themes.