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assumes his life. His dream to impersonate Gerard is squashed and the „if‟
in “If I were You” looms forever with no hope of becoming a concrete

reality. The title, therefore, hints at the basic idea of the story, and is,
therefore, very apt.

Message

The play gives the message that over confidence can lead to disastrous
results. One should never consider oneself to be smarter than the
opponent as is done by the intruder who thinks that Gerrard is no match
for him. The play also conveys that intelligence, the presence of mind and
cool – headedness can help us overcome the gravest of problems that we
may encounter

Setting

The setting of the play is a room in the cottage of a playwright, Vincent
Charles Gerrard, in the in the wilds of Essex. The cottage is isolated and
quite suitable as a writing retreat for a playwright who is something of a
mystery man as he is not very social and never meets the tradesmen. It is
.
also quite suitable as a hide-out for a criminal on the run

Summary

„If I Were You‟ by Douglas James is an interesting play that has

mystery, suspense, surprise and humour. It is a story in which an
Intruder intends to kill Gerrard and impersonate him to escape the

law but the tables are turned on him as he is trapped due to
Gerrard‟s presence of mind. The play thus brings out that

intelligence and presence of mind can help us come out of trickiest
of situations.

„If I Were You‟ is the story of Gerrard a cultured playwright. He
is something of a mystery man. He is not very social, lives in a

lonely cottage in the wilds of Essex, gives his orders on the phone
and never meets the tradesmen.