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 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.
The Land We Live In is an 1804 comedy play by the British writer Francis Ludlow Holt. It appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 29 December 1804. The cast included Dorothea Jordan as Lady Lovelace, Richard Wroughton as Sir Rowland English, William Powell as Sir Edward Melville, Robert William Elliston as Young Melville, William Barrymore as Sir Harry Lovelace, Vincent De Camp as Harcourt, John Bannister as Dexter, Ralph Wewitzer as Peter, Charles Mathews as Robert, John Henry Johnstone as Larry MacBoof, William Chatterley as Waiter, Maria Kemble as Miss Betty, Sarah Sparks as Mrs Doublecharge, Harriet Mellon as Polly, Charlotte Tidswell as Susan.
Sarah Sparks (1754–1837) was a British stage actor. She was born Sarah Mills into a theatrical family, although no evidence exists linking her to the earlier actors John Mills or his son William Mills. Her first known performance was in Berwick in 1773, and she was married to the actor Hugh Sparks by 1776. From 1776 to 1794 she was a regular at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh with her husband, as well as appearing in Chester and Newcastle.
Antonio, or the Soldier's Return is an 1800 historical tragedy by the British writer William Godwin. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 13 December 1800. The cast included John Philip Kemble as Antonio, Sarah Siddons as Helena, William Barrymore as Don Gusman, Richard Wroughton as Don Pedro, Charles Kemble as Don Henry, William Powell as Don Diego. Both the audience and critical reaction was negative. Seven years later another of Godwin's plays Faulkener was staged at the same theatre.
Rugantino is an 1805 melodrama by the British writer Matthew Lewis. An afterpiece, it was originally staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 18 October 1805. It was inspired by the 1801 French play L'Homme à Trois Visages by René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt. The original cast included Charles Murray as Andreas, Duke of Venice, John Liston as Meme, William Abbot as Poole, Henry Erskine Johnston as Rugantino and Isabella Mattocks as Camilla. It premiered in Ireland at Dublin's Crow Street Theatre on 26 January 1807. It was revived at Drury Lane in 1820 with a cast featuring James William Wallack as Rugantino, Thomas Cooke as Contarino, William Oxberry as Memme, John Pritt Harley as Stephane, Walter Maddocks as Harald, Sarah Sparks as Camilla and Charlotte Tidswell as Bettina.
The Innkeeper's Daughter is an 1817 stage melodrama by the British writer George Soane. It was loosely based on the ballad Mary the Maid of the Inn by Robert Southey. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 7 April 1817. The original cast included Henry Gattie as Frankland, James William Wallack as Richard, Thomas Cooke as Hans Ketzler, Frances Maria Kelly as Mary and Sarah Harlowe as Marian. The music was composed by Thomas Simpson Cooke. Its Irish debut was at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 19 January 1818.
The Touchstone is an 1817 comedy play by the British writer James Kenney. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 3 May 1817. The original cast included Charles Holland as Finesse, James William Wallack as Garnish, John Pritt Harley as Paragon, William Dowton as Probe, William Oxberry as Croply, Frances Maria Kelly as Dinah Croply, Sarah Harlowe as Mrs. Fairweather and Frances Alsop as Miss Becky. Its Irish debut was at Dublin's Crow Street Theatre on 16 February 1818.
Where to Find a Friend is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Leigh. It premiered on 20 May 1811 at the Lyceum Theatre in London, which was being used the Drury Lane company while their own theatre was being rebuilt after a fire. The original cast included Henry John Wallack as Sir Harry Morden, George Bartley as General Torrington, William Dowton as Heartly, Edward Knight as Jack Bustle, John Henry Johnstone as Barny, William Oxberry as Timothy Scamp, Joseph Ebsworth as Servant to General, Maria Rebecca Davison as Lady Morden, Frances Maria Kelly as Maria and Sarah Sparks as Mrs Bustle. It was Leigh's second play performed by the Drury Lane company following Grieving's a Folly in 1809.
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.
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.
The Maid of Kent is a 1773 comedy play by the English writer Francis Godolphin Waldron. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 17 May 1773. The original cast included William Parsons as Sir Thomas Richacre, John Hayman Packer as Doctor Goodman, Francis Godolphin Waldron as Metre, John Palmer as George, Joseph Vernon as William, John Moody as O'Connor, Robert Baddeley as La Poudre, Richard Griffith as Robert, Elizabeth Younge as Emily, Jane Pope as Patty and Mary Bradshaw as Dame Quickset.
The Dupe is a 1763 comedy play by the Irish writer Frances Sheridan. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 December 1763. The original cast included Richard Yates as Sir John Woodall, William Havard as Friendly, John Hayman Packer as Wellford, Thomas King as Sharply and Hannah Pritchard as Mrs Etherdown, Kitty Clive as Mrs Friendly. It was one of only two new mainpieces debuting at Drury Lane that year along with a clutch of afterpieces. Sheridan, the mother of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was best known for her novel Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph but had enjoyed success with the play The Discovery earlier in the year.
The Wedding Day is a comedy play by the English writer Elizabeth Inchbald. An afterpiece, it premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 1 November 1794. The original cast included William Barrymore as Lord Rakeland, Thomas King as Sir Adam Contest, John Hayman Packer as Mr Millden, Charles Kemble as Mr Contest, Charlotte Tidswell as Lady Autumn, Dorothea Jordan as Lady Contest, Elizabeth Hopkins as Mrs Hamford and Elizabeth Heard as Hannah. The Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 15 February 1797.
Fashionable Friends is an 1802 comedy play by the British author Mary Berry, although she initially claimed it to have been written by her friend Horace Walpole and found amongst his possessions after his death. It appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 22 April 1802. The Drury Lane cast included Thomas King as Sir Valentine Vapour, Charles Kemble as Sir Dudley Dorimant, William Barrymore as Mr. Lovell, Richard Suett as Doctor Syrop, Walter Maddocks as Music Master, Ralph Wewitzer as Lapierre, Maria Theresa Kemble as Lady Selina Vapour, Jane Pope as Mrs. Racket, Dorothea Jordan as Miss Racket, Sarah Harlowe as Trimming and Charlotte Tidswell as Lappet. The prologue was written by William Robert Spencer. The title is also written as The Fashionable Friends.
Cheap Living is a 1797 comedy play by the English writer Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 21 October 1797. The original cast included Richard Suett as Old Woodland, Charles Kemble as Young Woodland, Robert Palmer as Scatter, Charles Bannister as Spunge, Dorothea Jordan as Sir Edward Bloomly, Jane Pope as Mrs. Scatter, Maria Theresa Kemble as Elinor Bloomly. The Irish premiere occurred on the 2 January 1799 at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin.
Adelaide is an 1800 historical tragedy by the English writer and poet laureate Henry James Pye. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 25 January 1800. The original cast included Sarah Siddons as Adelaide, James Aickin as King Henry, John Philip Kemble as Prince Richard, William Barrymore as Prince John, Charles Kemble as Clifford, Thomas Cory as Legate and Walter Maddocks as Officer and Elizabeth Heard as Emma. It is set during the reign of Henry II.
The Marriage Promise is an 1803 comedy play by the British writer John Till Allingham. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 16 April 1803. The original cast included Charles Kemble as Charles Merton, John Dwyer as Sidney, William Dowton as Consols, John Bannister as Tandem, Robert Palmer as Woodland, Alexander Pope as George Howard, William Powell as Jeffries, Walter Maddocks as Bailiff, Jane Powell as Mrs Howard, Harriet Mellon as Mary Woodland, Sarah Sparks as Mrs Harvey and Dorothea Jordan as Emma The Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 8 June 1803.
Julian and Agnes is an 1801 Gothic tragedy by the British writer William Sotheby. Best known as a poet he wrote several tragedies, but this was his only play to be performed in London's West End. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 25 April 1801. The original cast included John Philip Kemble as Jullian, Sarah Siddons as Agnes, Richard Wroughton as Provost, John Hayman Packer as Prior, William Barrymore as Confesser, Charles Holland as Infirmier, Walter Maddocks as Steward, William Powell as Francis and Anne Biggs as Ellen.
