Charity is a drama in four acts by W. S. Gilbert that explores the issue of a woman who had lived with a man as his wife without ever having married. The play analyses and critiques the double standard in the Victorian era concerning the treatment of men and women who had sex outside of marriage, anticipating the "problem plays" of Shaw and Ibsen. It opened on 3 January 1874 at the Haymarket Theatre in London, where Gilbert had previously presented his 'fairy comedies' "The Palace of Truth", "Pygmalion and Galatea", and "The Wicked World". "Charity" ran for about 61 performances, closing on 14 March 1874, and received tours and revivals thereafter.