Mary Ann Yates (1728–1787) was an English tragic actress. The daughter of William Graham, a ship's steward and his wife, Mary, she married Richard Yates, a well-known comedian of the time.
The Runaway is a 1776 comedy play by the British writer Hannah Cowley. It premiered at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 15 February 1776. The original cast included Richard Yates as Mr Hargrave, William Smith as George Hargrave, Robert Bensley as Mr Drummond, William Brereton as Sir Charles Seymour, James Aickin as Mr Morley, William Parsons as Justice, John Palmer as Jarvis, Charles Bannister as First Hunter, Elizabeth Hopkins as Lady Dinah, Elizabeth Younge as Bella, Priscilla Hopkins as Harriet, Sarah Siddons as Emily and Mary Ann Wrighten as Susan. Cowley dedicated the play to David Garrick, the actor-manager of Drury Lane, who wrote the prologue. The action revolves around a country house in England.
The Battle of Hastings is a 1778 play by the English writer Richard Cumberland. It is a tragedy set around the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in October 1778 by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Sheridan later mocked Cumberland's sensitivity to criticism by modelling the character Sir Fretful Plagiary, in his 1779 play The Critic, after him.
First Love is a 1795 sentimental comedy play by the British playwright Richard Cumberland. It was first performed at the Drury Lane Theatre in May 1795. Frederick Mowbray becomes the protector of Sabrina Rosny after her abandonment by Lord Sensitive.
The Citizen is a 1761 comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. A farce it was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 2 July 1761. Another of Murphy's works The Old Maid was staged as the afterpiece The original cast included Edward Shuter as Old Philpot, Henry Woodward as Young Philpot, John Dunstall as Sir Jasper Wilding, Patrick Costollo as Dapper, James Perry as Quilldrive, Ann Elliot as Maria and Elizabeth Davies as Corinna. The Dublin premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre on 11 November 1761.
The Grecian Daughter is a 1772 tragedy by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It was widely performed for nearly sixty years, through the 1830s. For many British actresses in the eighteenth century, playing the role of the central heroine, Euphrasia, was an important part of gaining fame.
Zenobia is a 1768 tragedy by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It is based on the life of Zenobia, ruler of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria and her defiance of Ancient Rome.
Braganza is a 1775 tragedy by the Irish writer Robert Jephson. It portrays the overthrow of Spanish rule in Portugal during the seventeenth century, leading to the establishment of the Braganza Dynasty. The original Drury Lane cast included Mary Ann Yates as Duchess, William Smith as Velasquez, John Palmer as Ribiro, James Aickin as Almada, John Hayman Packer as Ramirez, William Brereton as Mendoza, Howard Usher as Lemos, Richard Hurst as Corea, James Wrighten as Antonio and Samuel Reddish as Duke. The prologue was written by Arthur Murphy.
Timanthes is a 1770 tragedy by the British writer John Hoole.
Cyrus is a 1768 tragedy by the British writer John Hoole.
The Way to Get Married is a 1796 comedy play by the British writer Thomas Morton. The play was frequently revived well into the nineteenth century.
Virginia is a 1754 tragedy by the British writer Samuel Crisp. The play is set in Ancient Rome, and portrays the story of Appius and Virginia.
The Hypocrite is a 1768 comic play by the Irish writer Isaac Bickerstaffe. It is a reworking of the 1717 play The Non-Juror by Colley Cibber, itself inspired by Molière's Tartuffe.
Three Weeks after Marriage is a comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. An afterpiece, it premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 30 March 1776. It was a reworking of an earlier play What We Must All Come To which was staged in 1764, which had a poor reception. The cast included William Thomas Lewis as Sir Charles Racket, John Quick as Drugget, Isabella Mattocks as Lady Racket, Ann Pitt as Mrs Drugget and Jane Green as Dimity. The entire play takes place at a country house about four miles outside London.
The Rival Sisters is a 1793 tragedy by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. His final play, it premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 18 March 1793. It had been first written in 1783 and then published in 1786. It was staged by the company of the Drury Lane company under Richard Brinsley Sheridan who were at the Haymarket while their own theatre was rebuilt. The London cast included Sarah Siddons as Ariadne, Jane Powell as Phaedra, John Philip Kemble as Perithous, Richard Wroughton as Periander, King of Naxos, Robert Palmer as Theseus, John Hayman Packer as Archon and Thomas Caulfield as Aletes. It ran for around nine performances.
Know Your Own Mind is a 1777 comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 22 February 1777. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as Millamour, Charles Lee Lewes as Dashwould, Richard Wroughton as Malvil, Francis Aickin as Bygrove, Cockran Joseph Booth as Captain Bygrave, James Fearon as Sir John Millamour, John Whitfield as Sir Harry Lovewith, Ralph Wewitzer as Charles, Servant of Millamour, Isabella Mattocks as Lady Bell, Mary Dayes as Lady Jane and Elizabeth Hartley as Miss Neville. The Irish premiere was at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 13 August 1778. It was acted nineteen times at Covent Garden and in 1789 was revived at Drury Lane, with Dorothea Jordan in the cast, and remained a standard work well into the nineteenth century.
Alzuma is a 1773 historical tragedy by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It premiered in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 23 February 1773. The original cast included William 'Gentleman' Smith as Alzuma, Thomas Hull as Pizarro, Robert Bensley as Don Carlos and Elizabeth Hartley as Orellana. The music was composed for the production by Thomas Arne. It is based on the Conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro in the sixteenth century. Murphy suggested that the British victory at Havana in 1762 influenced his sympathetic depiction of the Peruvians and hostility to Spain. Richard Brinsley Sheridan's later play Pizarro dealt with the same subject and themes.
The School for Guardians is a 1767 comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 10 January 1767. The original cast included John Walker as Sir Theodore Brumpton, Henry Woodward as Young Brumpton, William Smith as Bellford, Edward Shuter as Oldcastle, John Dunstall as Lovibond, Mary Wilford as Harriet and Ann Elliot as Mary Ann. In 1777 Thomas Hull adapted it into a comic opera Love finds the Way with music composed for the production by Thomas Arne.
Begone Dull Care is an 1808 comedy play by the English writer Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 9 February 1808. The original Covent Garden cast included Alexander Pope as Sir Arthur St Albyn, Charles Kemble as Algernon St Albyn, William Thomas Lewis as Modern, John Brunton as Danvers, John Fawcett as Lord Blushdale, John Emery as Solace, William Chapman as Trusty, Samuel Simmons as Geoffrey, Sarah Smith as Selina, Mary Ann Davenport as Deborah. The Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 30 March 1808.
Appearance Is Against Them is a 1785 comedy play by the British writer Elizabeth Inchbald. A farce, it premiered as an afterpiece at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 22 October 1785. The original cast included John Quick as Mr Walsmley, John Palmer as Lord Lighthead, James Thompson as Thompson, William Swords as Lighthead's Servant, John Edwin as Humphry, Lydia Webb as Lady Mary Magipie, Mary Morton as Miss Angle and Sarah Maria Wilson as Fish. The Irish premiere took place at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin on 4 February 1786.
