The Student and the Cockatoo is a play for two men and one woman. When Desmond, a student in search of a room, meets Hilda in a pub and is brought to her house he finds himself in odd company. She, an eccentric lady apt to go off into flights of the strangest fancy, suggests that he can have the room for nothing if he shares her bedroom. A lodger already in the house, Mr Sidney, has an all-consuming passion for aeroplanes, spending most of his time piloting imaginary flights. Hilda’s cockatoo acts as a sort of general confidant. After some embarrassing situations Desmond manages to bring the hitherto distant Mr Sidney and Hilda together.