sims wrote over thirty plays, but most of them were adapted from european pieces. his first hit play, "crutch and toothpick", based on a french farce by labiche, was produced at the royalty theatre in 1879 and enjoyed a run for 240 nights. in 1881, he wrote the even more successful melodrama, "the lights o' london", produced by wilson barrett at the princess's theatre, london. this ran for 286 nights and toured in the british provinces, as well as earning record ticket sales in america. it went on to tour continuously in europe and elsewhere through world war i. next, at the princess's, in 1882, was "romany rye", another hit. in the early 1880s, sims became the first playwright to have four plays running simultaneously in west end theatres. he also had a dozen touring companies playing his works by that time. he collaborated on many of his plays, and his co-authors included barrett, sydney grundy and clement scott.