Lisle's Tennis Court was a building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, the theatre was called Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse, also known as The Duke's Playhouse, The New Theatre or The Opera. The building was rebuilt in 1714, and used again as a theatre for a third period, 1714–1732. The tennis court theatre was the first public playhouse in London to feature the moveable scenery that would become a standard feature of Restoration theatres.
John Ramsay Allardyce Nicoll was a Scottish literary scholar and teacher.
The School for Friends is an 1805 comedy play by the British writer Marianne Chambers. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 December 1805. The Drury Lane cast featured Robert William Elliston as Lord Belmour, Richard Wroughton as Sir Felix Mordant, William Barrymore as Sir Edward Epworth, William Dowton as Mr. Hardy, Charles Mathews as Matthew Daw, Walter Maddocks as Landlord, Jane Pope as Lady Courtland, Dorothea Jordan as Mrs. Hamilton, Harriet Siddons as Miss Emily, Harriet Mellon as Lucy and Charlotte Tidswell as Sarah. The prologue was written by James Kenney. It appeared for 25 performances on its initial run.
Ourselves is an 1811 comedy play by the British writer Marianne Chambers. It premiered at the Lyceum Theatre in London on 2 March 1811. The Lyceum was at the time hosting the company of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane while it was rebuilt following damage by an 1809 fire. It was Chambers' second staged work following the successful The School for Friends in 1805. The cast included William Dowton as Sir John Rainsford, Benjamin Wrench as Sir Sydney Beaufort, Charles Holland as Fitzaubin, John Henry Johnstone as O'Shanauhan, Vincent De Camp as Darlington, William Penley as Cuff, Maria Rebecca Davison as Miss Beaufort, Julia Glover as the Unknown Lady and Sarah Harlowe as Mrs O'Shanauhan. It was performed sixteen times on its original run.
Jane Lessingham née Hemet was a stage actress from 1756 to 1782. Lessingham predominately performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, where she was known for both her beauty and her skill as a comedy actress.
The WelchHeiress is a 1795 comedy play written by Edward Jerningham. Although it had only a single stage performance, the published script had some success.
The Siege of Berwick is a four-act verse tragedy by Edward Jerningham, acted in 1793 and published the following year. The text was republished in the third volume of Jerningham’s Poems and Plays (1806) and then in a separate edition as The Siege of Berwick: a tragedy by Mr Jerningham as performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, edited by his great grand-nephew Hubert Jerningham in 1882. The subject concerns a supposed incident during the English invasion of Scotland in 1333. Though the play is of historical interest, it was not a critical success.
Herod and Mariamne is a 1671 tragedy by the English writer Samuel Pordage. It was first performed by the Duke's Company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London shortly before they moved to the Dorset Gardens Theatre. It was the company's attempt to respond to the great success of John Dryden's heroic drama The Conquest of Granada by the rival King's Company. It is inspired by the accounts of Josephus portraying the reign of Herod II.
The Adventures of Five Hours is a 1663 comedy play by the English writer Sir Samuel Tuke, 1st Baronet. Based on the play Los empenos de seis horas by Antonio Coello, It is an early example of the developing Restoration comedy tradition. Its success led to a series of sentimental plays in the Spanish style about love and honour, very different to the more sophisticated and cynical comedies which the Restoration era became known for.
The Massacre of Paris is a 1689 tragedy by the English writer Nathaniel Lee. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It is based around the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day massacre which led the killing of many Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion. The events had previously been portrayed in Christopher Marlowe's Elizabethan play The Massacre at Paris.
First Impressions is an 1813 comedy play by the British writer Horatio Smith. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 30 October 1813. The original cast included Joseph Munden as Sir Thomas Trapwell, Alexander Rae as Fortescue, Robert Elliston as Harcourt, William Lovegrove as Sir Toby Harbottle, William Oxberry as Sapling, Benjamin Wrench as Professor Trifleton, Julia Glover as Laetitia Freemantle, Elizabeth Rebecca Edwin as Lady Trapwell, Sarah Sparks as Lady Anemone, Frances Maria Kelly as Louisa and Susan Boyce as Phoebe. It lasted for fifteen performances on its original run. It's Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 27 January 1814.
Forget and Forgive is a comedy play by the British writer James Kenney. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 21 November 1827. The original cast included Henry John Wallack as Charles Sydney, John Liston as Rumbold, John Cooper as Cameron, William Bennett as Sir Gregory Ogle, Maria Rebecca Davison as Lady Ratcliffe and Ellen Kean as Georgiana. Originally of five acts it was later shortened to three. It was revived under the title Frolics in France in 1828.
The French Libertine is an 1826 historical play by the British-based American writer John Howard Payne. Written under the title Richelieu the play originally focused on the life of the eighteenth century French aristocrat and libertine the Duke of Richelieu, a relation of the seventeenth century statesman Cardinal Richelieu. It was partly inspired by the 1796 work La Jeunesse de Richelieu by Alexandre Duval. Issues with the censor George Colman led to many changes, done by Charles Kemble who played the lead, and Richelieu was altered into the fictional Duke de Rougemont.
Wallace is an 1820 historical tragedy by the British writer Charles Edward Walker. It portrays the Scottish leader William Wallace and the events surrounding his capture and execution, due to the betrayal of John de Menteith. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 14 November 1820. It starred William Macready as Wallace, Charles Kemble as Douglas, Daniel Egerton as Comyn, William Abbot as Montieth, Thomas Comer as Kierly, William Chapman as Clare, Earl of Gloster, Charles Connor as Lord de Clifford and Margaret Agnes Bunn as Helen. It was performed sixteen times. The critic John Waldie, who saw the play in Newcastle four months after its London premiere, compared it to Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1799 hit Pizarro.
Love's Victory is an 1825 comedy play by the British writer George Hyde. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 16 November 1825. The original cast included Charles Kemble as Don Cesar, Prince of Naples, John Duruset as Don Luis, Prince of Bearne, Daniel Egerton as Don Diego, Duke of Barcelona, Tyrone Power as Gaston, Prince of Foix, William Farren as Don Pedro, William Blanchard as Lopez and Maria Ann Lacy as Princess Diana. It was inspired by the seventeenth century Golden Age Spanish work El desdén, con el desdén by Agustín Moreto, which was also adapted by Moliere. It published the same year by Hurst, Robinson of Waterloo Place in London and Constable in Edinburgh.
John Duruset (1793–1843) was a British stage actor and singer. He is also known as Jack Duruset and John Durousset. Born in London and showing a gift, he was apprenticed to the Italian composer and music teacher Domenico Corri. An early role came in Theodore Hook's The Siege of St Quintin (1808) at Drury Lane. Following the Drury Lane Fire of 1809 he moved with the company to the Lyceum Theatre. From 1810 was a regular for many years at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. He acted in many comic operas and musicals, as well as straight tragedies and non-musical comedies. He featured in the theatrical reviews of William Hazlitt.
The Gazette Extraordinary is a comedy play by the British writer Joseph George Holman, published and first performed in 1811. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 23 April 1811 The original cast included Charles Mayne Young as Lord De Mallory, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Heartworth, William Barrymore as William Clayton, John Fawcett as Doctor Suitall, Charles Murray as Randall, Nannette Johnston as Lady Julia Sandford, Mary Catherine Bolton as Miss Alford, Mary Ann Davenport as Mrs Leech and Sarah Booth as Ellen Meredith. It was acted eleven times during its initial run.
Don Pedro, King of Castile is an 1828 historical tragedy by the British writer Lord Porchester. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 March 1828. The cast included William Macready as Henry, John Cooper as Don Pedro, James William Wallack as Raban, George Yarnold as Constable of France, Sarah West as Maria De Padilla and Ellen Tree as Blanche of Bourbon. It is based on the rule of the fourteenth century King of Castile Peter the Cruel.
Conscience; or, The Bridal Night is an 1821 tragedy by the Irish writer James Haynes. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 21 February 1821. The original cast included Sarah West as Elmira, John Powell as Duke of Venice, John Cooper as Arsenio, James William Wallack as Lorenzo. It was acted five times on its original run. It then appeared at the Anthony Street Theatre in New York in May 1821. Haynes dedicated the play to James Perry. John Genest considered the play's language better than its plot.
Kenilworth is an 1821 historical play by the British writer Alfred Bunn. A melodrama, based on the novel of the same title by Walter Scott, it premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 8 March 1821. A separate adaptation of the novel by Thomas Dibdin appeared at the Surrey Theatre the same year. The original Covent Garden cast included John Vandenhoff as the Earl of Leicester, William Abbot as Varney, Henry Erskine Johnston as Sir Walter Raleigh, Charles Connor as Tresilian, Thomas Comer as Michael Lambourne, Charles Farley as Antony Foster, Harriet Faucit as Queen Elizabeth and Mary Vining as Countess of Leicester.
