The Alchemist is a comedy by the English playwright Ben Jonson which is considered his best comedy. An outbreak of plague in London forces a gentleman, Lovewit, to flee to the country, leaving his house under the sole charge of his butler, Jeremy. Jeremy uses the opportunity to use the house as the headquarters for fraudulent acts. He transforms himself into 'Captain Face', and enlists the aid of Subtle, a fellow conman and Dol Common, a prostitute.