Barton Booth was one of the most famous dramatic actors of the first part of the 18th century.
Aaron Hill was an English dramatist and miscellany writer.
Swinside, which is also known as Sunkenkirk and Swineshead, is a stone circle lying beside Swinside Fell, part of Black Combe in southern Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 recorded stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during what archaeologists categorise as the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.
Zaïre is a five-act tragedy in verse by Voltaire. Written in three weeks, it was given its first public performance on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française in Paris. It was a great success with the Paris audiences and marked a turning away from tragedies caused by a fatal flaw in the protagonist's character to ones based on pathos. The tragic fate of its heroine is caused not through any fault of her own, but by the jealousy of her Muslim lover and the intolerance of her fellow Christians. Zaïre was notably revived in 1874 with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role, and it was the only one of Voltaire's plays to be performed by the Comédie française during the 20th century. The play was widely performed in Britain well into the 19th century in an English adaptation by Aaron Hill and was the inspiration for at least thirteen operas.
The Nine Stones, also known as the Devil's Nine Stones, the Nine Ladies, or Lady Williams and her Dog, is a stone circle located near to the village of Winterbourne Abbas in the southwestern English county of Dorset. Archaeologists believe that it was likely erected during the Bronze Age.
Lucretia Bradshaw was an English actress. She was often billed as Mrs. Bradshaw.
Mérope is a tragedy in five acts by Voltaire. The text is a reworking by Voltaire of the Italian tragedy Merope (1713) by Scipione Maffei, dating from 1736/1737. The play premiered in 1743 and first appeared in print in 1744.
The Tragedy of Lady Jane Grey, often shortened to Lady Jane Grey, is a 1715 tragedy by the British writer Nicholas Rowe. It portrays the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey, a pretender to the English throne following the death of Edward VI and her defeat and execution by Mary I in 1554. The title role was played by the prominent actress Anne Oldfield. The cast also included John Mills as the Duke of Northumberland, Barton Booth as Lord Guilford Dudley and Lacy Ryan as the Earl of Sussex, Colley Cibber as Bishop Gardiner, James Quin as the Lieutenant of the Tower and Mary Porter as the Duchess of Suffolk.
Sir Thomas Overbury is a 1723 tragedy by the British writer Richard Savage. It is based on the life of Thomas Overbury an associate of the Jacobean royal favourite Robert Carr whose apparent murder while incarcerated in the Tower of London provoked a trial and major scandal.
The Fatal Vision is a 1716 tragedy by the British writer Aaron Hill. It is also known as The Fatal Vision: Or, the Fall of Siam.
Fatal Extravagance is a 1721 tragedy by the British writer Aaron Hill. It was presented by another writer Joseph Mitchell, a friend of Hill, at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. The original cast included James Quin as Bellmour, Anthony Boheme as Courtney, John Ogden as Bargrave and Anna Maria Seymour as Louisa. It was printed with the slightly longer title The Fatal Extravagance.
The Fair Captive is a 1721 tragedy by the British writer Eliza Haywood.
Roger Bridgewater was a British stage actor of the eighteenth century. He worked as party of the Drury Lane company for many years, specialising in dramatic roles, before switching to Covent Garden in 1734. In later years he frequently played Falstaff.
Sophonisba is a 1730 tragedy by the British writer James Thomson. It is based on the story of the Carthaginian noblewoman Sophonisba who committed suicide rather than be paraded in a Roman triumph at the end of the Second Punic War. The story has been made into a number of plays including Nathaniel Lee's restoration tragedy Sophonisba and Voltaire's later Sophonisbe.
The Provoked Husband is a 1728 comedy play by the British writer and actor Colley Cibber, based on a fragment of play written by John Vanbrugh. It is also known by the longer title The Provok'd Husband: or, a Journey to London.
Merope is a 1731 tragedy by the British writer George Jeffreys. It takes place in Ancient Greece, based around the myth of Merope. Voltaire wrote his own play Mérope on the subject in 1743.
The Lady's Revenge, or the Rover Reclaim'd is a 1734 comedy play by the British writer William Popple.
The Tuscan Treaty is a 1733 tragedy by the British writer William Bond also known by the longer title The Tuscan Treaty: or, Tarquin's overthrow. It is set during the time of the Overthrow of the Roman monarchy.
Zara is a 1736 tragedy by the British writer Aaron Hill, based on the 1732 French play Zaïre by Voltaire.
The Cobbler of Preston is a 1716 comedy play by Christopher Bullock, although a separate play of the same title was written by Charles Johnson the same year. A one-act afterpiece is the origin of the phrase "Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes". In the preface to the published version Bullock suggested that he had begun writing the play just four days before its premiere. It takes inspiration from The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare and is set in Preston, Lancashire. The town had recently been scene of fighting during the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion at the Battle of Preston. Bullock's play does not overtly reference the rebellion, but has undertones supportive of the Hanoverian Dynasty.
