The Magistrate is a farce by English playwright Arthur Wing Pinero. It concerns a respectable magistrate who finds himself caught up in scandalous events that threaten to disgrace him.
The first production opened at the Court Theatre in London on 21 March 1885. It was Pinero's first attempt at farce, after several dramas, and took audiences and critics by surprise.[1] It was very favourably reviewed, and became a box-office hit, running for a year until 24 March 1886.[2]
In 1917 it was adapted as a musical comedy that ran in London for 801 performances under the title The Boy. The plot was unchanged, but the characters received new names. In 1934, it was adapted for the screen as Those Were the Days, starring Will Hay.