The Coward

Best known for the puppet-pirate romp Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, Nick Jones puts away childish things, partly, in this flesh-and-blood farce about a simpering 18th-century pantywaist (Jeremy Strong) who hires a killer (Christopher Evan Welch) to fight his duels. Jones writes lean, witty jokes, with a keen ear for bombast and waggish anachronism, and director Sam Gold coaxes solid performances from the cast. But this is a clever, extended sketch more than a considered comedy.—David Cote