become an artist, in the scene in which Susan shoots at the rejected Mick.

M. Wong

M. Wong, a short, “permanently smiling” sycophantic Burmese diplomat whose obsequious manner and imperfect English create humor during the banquet the night Darwin decides to resign from the foreign service over the Suez crisis. Privately, Darwin calls him an “appalling wog.”

Mme Wong

Mme Wong, as much a caricature as her husband, who attempts to socialize by summarizing the plot of one of Ingmar Bergman’s films, though she is confused about Bergman’s nationality.

John Begley

John Begley, a twenty-two-year-old functionary at the Foreign Office, with impeccable manners.

Madame Aung

In 1956, Madame Aung attends a dinner party hosted by Susan and Raymond with her husband. Hare describes her as "small, tidy and bright." During the play, she starts recounting a story about an Ingmar Bergman film she recently watched. She mistakenly claims that Bergman is Norwegian, but Darwin promptly corrects her, clarifying that the renowned director is actually Swedish.

Monsieur Aung

Monsieur Aung, often referred to as M. Aung, serves as the First Secretary of the Burmese Embassy. Susan and Raymond host him at their Knightsbridge residence in October 1956. The stage directions portray M. Aung as "almost permanently smiling—short [and] dogmatic." He appears honored to be in the company of Sir Leonard Darwin and consistently offers compliments and shows deference to him throughout Scene 7.

Raymond Brock

Susan meets Brock for the first time at the British Embassy in Brussels, Belgium, in 1947, following the death of her friend Tony in a hotel. Hare describes Brock as "an ingenuous figure, not yet thirty, with a small moustache and a natural energy he finds hard to contain in the proper manner." After helping Susan out of a mental hospital somewhere between December 1952 and October 1956, Brock becomes her husband. He seems untroubled by dishonesty when it aligns with his goals or beliefs. He lies on Susan's behalf to prevent Tony Radley's wife from discovering her husband's infidelity. Later, Brock appears unfazed by the deceit surrounding the Suez Canal incident. Although his superior, Sir Andrew Charleson, considers him an unremarkable employee, Brock's enduring patience with Susan and her mental struggles over the years reveals a certain depth of character. "Plenty" was adapted into a film by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1985, with Hare writing the screenplay and Fred Schepisi directing. The film featured Meryl Streep as Susan, Tracy Ullman as Alice, Sting as Mick, Charles Dance as Raymond, and John Gielgud as Sir Leonard Darwin.

In the later years of Plenty's timeline, Brock loses his foreign service career and transitions to the insurance industry. He is introduced in the first scene (which is, chronologically, his last scene in the play's non-linear order), where he is found naked, intoxicated, drugged, and unconscious, as his wife prepares to leave him.

Sir Andrew Charleson

Charleson holds the position of Chief Clerk responsible for personnel matters in the Foreign Service. Susan discusses Brock's career with him after they return from Iran. Charleson is portrayed as somewhat condescending, as he shows little respect for his assistant. Hare describes him as a man in his early fifties with "far more edge" than Darwin. By "edge," Hare likely suggests that Charleson is straightforward and blunt. He candidly tells Susan that while her husband has overcome one challenge, he is essentially an average performer in the Foreign Service.

Sir Leonard Darwin

Darwin holds a higher position than Brock in the Foreign Service. He is a diplomatic and patriotic figure who believes in Europe's revival after World War II and values its historical significance. An honorable individual, he trusts his country until he learns the truth about England's involvement in the Suez Canal crisis. This revelation leads him to resign from the Foreign Service.

Darwin's resignation is a moral choice that contradicts the expected diplomatic response, which would be to support his country unconditionally, despite feeling betrayed. Due to his resignation and his unwavering commitment to the truth over societal expectations, Darwin is ostracized, as evidenced by the low attendance at his funeral. Although Susan claims to be driven by truth, it is Darwin who truly embodies honesty in Hare's play.

Dorcas Frey

Dorcas is a seventeen-year-old history student of Alice at Kensington Academy, where Alice begins teaching during the play. Dorcas attends Sir Leonard Darwin's funeral as Alice's companion. She becomes pregnant after engaging in sexual relations with one of Alice's friends in exchange for drugs. Following the funeral, Dorcas requests money from Susan for an abortion, although she pretends it is for a hand operation.

Lazar

Lazar is a man Susan unexpectedly encounters while waiting for a shipment of weapons during the war. He works as an agent for England, and "Lazar" is his code name; his real name is never disclosed. Susan often reflects on Lazar in the years after the war. He tracks her down in England nineteen years after their initial meeting in France. They have a sexual encounter in a cheap hotel, and he attempts to share details about his life post-war. Lazar feels disillusioned, believing he has compromised his values by working in the corporate sector and living a suburban life with a wife. Although he wishes to reveal more about his life after the war, Lazar ultimately conceals his true identity from Susan. He departs, leaving her under the influence of marijuana, without revealing his real name, only using the name "Lazar." His absence throughout most of the play and his hidden identity cast him as a mysterious figure. In a sense, he symbolizes the elusive elements in Susan's life; it is the mystery surrounding him—and the potential that he holds the key to completing her life—that keeps Susan intrigued for so many years.

Mick

Mick is a friend of Alice's whom Susan approaches to father her child. He is a sociable young man who still resides with his mother. Coming from a lower social class than Susan, Mick doesn't mingle in the same circles as Susan and Brock. Despite this, Mick agrees to father the child, and they spend eighteen months trying, but they are never successful. The experience leaves Mick feeling quite terrible and used. Although he wishes to remain involved with Susan, they agree to part ways. Later, Mick confronts Susan, breaking their agreement, but she wants nothing to do with him and fires a gun above his head. Subsequently, Susan reveals to Lazar that Brock paid Mick to placate him after the incident.

Alice Park

Alice is Susan's self-declared Bohemian friend. Susan meets Alice in 1947 and maintains their friendship until the play concludes in 1962. Alice leads a rather carefree lifestyle, engaging with married men, experimenting with drugs, working sporadically, and occasionally staying at Susan's home. Alice urges Susan to liberate herself from what Susan perceives as constraints: Brock and her job. Alice seems to relish the drama such actions would bring. Additionally, she appears to dislike England and its societal norms. Throughout the play, Alice defies these norms and assists those whose lives contrast with the country's dominant cultural values—evident in her plan to use Susan and Brock's home as a halfway house for pregnant, unwed mothers.

Susan Traherne

Susan Traherne is the complex protagonist of the play. She is both passionate and volatile, demonstrated by her unpredictable outbursts and enduring feelings for Lazar. Susan grapples with mental instability, which manifests in her brutally honest demeanor. During World War II, she serves as a courier for the English in France. After the war, she becomes disillusioned, frequently confronting the monotony and triviality of her subsequent jobs. She struggles to adapt to postwar England and seems trapped in her idealized memories of the past; her time with British intelligence has taken on an unrealistic perfection in her mind. She longs for the war and her romantic involvement with Lazar.

By the conclusion of the play, Susan finds herself isolated. She transitions from serving her country during a war abroad to being shunned by that same country as the play unfolds. Initially, Susan embraces her outsider status. However, by the end, her alienation can be seen either as self-imposed or as an unjust punishment inflicted by others. Hare leaves this aspect open to interpretation, much like other elements in the play. Despite being portrayed as mentally unstable, Susan insists that her actions are driven by a quest for change and truth, strengthened by her readiness to voice what others will not. Even though she professes loyalty to the truth, Susan ultimately symbolizes something different: unfulfilled dreams and aspirations. Similar to her homeland, Susan reaches her pinnacle with the triumph of World War II, but in the following years, both she and England struggle to maintain their visions of empire and influence.