Act I
In the church hall of a small Suffolk market town, Lady Billows is chairing a committee meeting to choose a suitable girl to be crowned May Queen. Her housekeeper, armed with reports of unworthy behaviour, condemns each and every one and eventually none are left. But why should virtue be a prerogative of the female sex? The unusual idea of a May King is proposed and they choose to honour Albert Herring, the son of the widowed greengrocer. His reputation is spotless, and his shyness and fear of girls notorious, and the whole committee sallies forth to deliver the good news to Albert and his mother.
At the Herring’s greengrocer shop that same day, Sid, the butcher’s assistant, teases Albert for his inexperience. Albert is uncomfortable at seeing Sid openly seducing Nancy but it provokes him to question his simple life and his mother’s hold over him. When Lady Billows and her entourage come to congratulate Albert on being chosen as May King, Mrs Herring is thrilled but Albert is worried that it will make him the laughing stock of the town.
Act II
Three weeks later, May Day has finally arrived. In the church hall, Florence and Nancy hurry to finish setting up for the town feast. Sid has an idea for making mischief and leaves with Nancy to tell her the plan to her. When they return to serve lemonade for the feast, Sid spikes Albert’s lemonade with rum. The guests arrive, soon followed by Albert. Lady Billows begins the festivities with a grand welcome that turns into a passionate sermon warning the town’s youth against immorality. The ceremony ends with a toast to Albert and to Lady Billows. Albert drains his cup of spiked lemonade, which gives him hiccups.
After the festivities, an inebriated Albert returns home. He hears whistling from outside: it is Sid calling for Nancy outside her window. She comes out into the street and they laugh about Albert’s appearance and personality. In the course of their conversation, Albert discovers that Sid slipped rum into his drink. After he hears the lovers caressing in the street, Albert cannot bear the yoke of his chastity any longer. He sets off with his prize money to have a little adventure of his own, just missing his mother as she returns home.
Act III
The following morning, Albert’s disappearance has thrown the town into an uproar. Nancy berates Sid for not being more concerned about his disappearance. Mrs Herring, utterly distraught and convinced Albert must be dead, keens over the one photograph she has of her son. When the police find Albert’s May Day wreath run over in the road, Mrs Herring and the townspeople believe this confirms Albert’s death and they join together in a threnody of lamentation. Albert finally returns, and when the town elites demand to know where he has been, Albert confidently relates a night of drunken debauchery. His description of his evening of sin shocks and appals his mother and the village elite, while Sid and Nancy are suitably impressed. With his newfound self-assurance, Albert flings away his coronation wreath, secure in the knowledge that he can see a future where he will finally be true to himself.