OFF BROADWAY: 'LONDON ASSURANCE' IS ADORABLE, NO MATTER WHAT YEAR IT IS

WHICH ONE OF US IS GOING TO MARRY THE 18-YEAR-OLD? A father-son confrontation in “London Assurance,” an 1841 farce by Dion Boucicault that Irish Repertory Theater has made contemporary by not updating it at all.

DON’T TAKE OUR WORD for it. No less a star critic than Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal called it “a perfect production of one of the funniest plays ever written.”

Love the lead actor: Colin McPhillamy as Sir Harcourt Courtley, a London gentleman in his 60s who actually believes he looks 40 (he is mistaken — see photo) and is in the market for a new wife. Luckily he has been promised the lovely and very young Grace Harkaway (Caroline Strang), who figures marriage is just an economic arrangement anyway, so what the hell? But then she meets Courtley’s handsome 20-something son, Charles (Ian Holcomb), not knowing who he is, and she discovers what falling in love feels like. It is 1841 (around Christmastime, although that doesn’t seem to play much of a role in the action).

‘OH, YES, I’M VERY CLOSE TO THE FAMILY.’ ‘Well, then, come and stay at my grand estate for a month,’ even though I’ve never laid eyes on you before. Max Harkaway (Brian Keane) , left, and Dazzle (Craig Wesley Divino) meet cute in Belgravia Square.

We are in London, in Sir Harcourt’s elegant Belgravia Square home — the sets, by James Noone, are elegant. But we are headed for the country, to meet the bride, to party with likeminded Brits, to flirt with all the wrong people.

Things are a little complicated: First of all, there’s the adaptable servant, Cool (Elliot Joseph), who tells Sir Harcourt whatever he wants to hear but also covers for young Charles. For instance, when he and a new acquaintance, Dazzle (Craig Wesley Divino) , get very drunk and stay out all night. When Max Harkaway (Brian Keane), the bride-to-be’s guardian, comes to visit, Sir Harcourt is in his dressing room (offstage), and Dazzle — well, he doesn’t lie outrageously, but he does make it appear that he’s a lot closer to the Courtleys than he really is. Actually, throughout the play, no one can seem to remember who Dazzle is. Apparently, he and Charles met in a pub somewhere and hit it off.

LADY GAY SPANKER HAS A SUITOR. Really, all you need is the character name, in this case. Rachel Pickup as Lady Gay, with Colin McPhillamy as Sir Harcourt Courtly.

I can’t imagine, in 2020, what the playwright (Mr. Boucicault lived from 1820 to 1890) had in mind, but he has named a supporting character Lady Gay Spanker. Lady Gay is adorable, much more age-appropriate for Sir Harcourt. O.K., she’s married and she rather likes her husband (Adolphus Spanker, played by Robert Zukerman) well enough, but she considers him something of a sweet dolt. Lady Gay is played by Rachel Pickup, which — to an adolescent American ear like mine, at least — has built-in humor too.

SINCE WHEN DOES FARCE NEED COMIC RELIEF? Robert Zukerman, left, as Lady Gay’s oblivious husband, and Evan Zes as Mark Meddle, a lawyer who lives up to his name.

Things turn goofy fast during this country weekend. Goofiest of all: Charles is there, with Dazzle, but he claims to be someone else altogether — and even Charles’s father buys the lie. Remember, this is farce. People hide behind furniture to overhear things they shouldn’t. People arrange elopements they don’t mean to go through with.

YOUNG LOVE Grace (Caroline Strang) and Charles (Ian Holcomb) meet during an English country weekend. It all might have been simpler if he hadn’t been pretending to be someone else.

Mark Meddle (Evan Zes) seems to be the comic relief — well, it’s already a comedy. He seems to play the fool, which is an interesting take on lawyer characters in the 19th century. On the other hand, the female servant, Pert (Meg Hennessy), is presented as sensible and sympathetic — an equally interesting take on the portrayal of the “lower” classes.

THE OBJECT OF THEIR AFFECTION. Caroline Strang plays Grace, who thinks marriage is just a boring business deal. Until she meets a really cute dude.

The real hero of the production is Charlotte Moore, director of Irish Repertory, whose direction accomplishes the near-impossible. The actions and behaviors are absolutely contemporary. The dialogue, while true to the period, is absolutely understandable. And the characters effortlessly prove what theater is supposed to remind us, at heart level, all the time: Centuries pass, but human nature doesn’t change.

London Assurance,” by Dion Boucicault, directed by Charlotte Moore, Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, irishrep.org. 2 hours 50 minutes. Opened on Dec. 15, 2019. Limited run. Closes on Feb. 9.