Junius Brutus (play)

Last updated
Junius Brutus
Written by William Duncombe
Date premiered25 November 1734
Place premiered Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Original languageEnglish
GenreTragedy

Junius Brutus is a 1734 tragedy by the British writer William Duncombe. It was one of a number of plays based on the life of the Roman Republican Lucius Junius Brutus. [1]

The original Drury Lane cast included John Mills as Junius Brutus, Edward Berry as Valeius Publicola, William Milward as Titus, William Mills as Caelius, Theophilus Cibber as Messala, Richard Winstone as Silvus and Mary Heron as Lucia and Hannah Pritchard as Hortensia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Junius Brutus</span> Roman politician and assassin of Julius Caesar

Marcus Junius Brutus was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was retained as his legal name. He is often referred to simply as Brutus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucius Junius Brutus</span> Semi-legendary 6th-century BC founder of Roman Republic

Lucius Junius Brutus was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after the suicide of Lucretia, which led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. He was involved in the abdication of fellow consul Tarquinius Collatinus, and executed two of his sons for plotting the restoration of the Tarquins.

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1817.

Servilia was a Roman matron from a distinguished family, the Servilii Caepiones. She was the daughter of Quintus Servilius Caepio and Livia, thus the maternal half-sister of Cato the Younger. She married Marcus Junius Brutus, with whom she had a son, the Brutus who, along with others in the Senate, assassinated Julius Caesar. After her first husband's death in 77 BC, she married Decimus Junius Silanus, and with him had a son and three daughters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Booth</span> American actor (1833–1893)

Edwin Thomas Booth was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. He is considered by many to be the greatest American actor of the 19th century. However, his achievements are often overshadowed by his relationship with his younger brother, actor John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junius Brutus Booth</span> English-born American actor (1796–1852)

Junius Brutus Booth was an English-born American actor. He was the father of actor John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. His other children included Edwin Booth, the foremost tragedian of the mid-to-late 19th century, Junius Brutus Booth Jr., an actor and theatre manager, and Asia Booth Clarke, a poet and writer.

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman general and politician of the late republican period and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination. He had previously been an important supporter of Caesar in the Gallic Wars and in the civil war against Pompey. Decimus Brutus is often confused with his distant cousin and fellow conspirator, Marcus Junius Brutus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junia gens</span> Ancient Roman family

The gens Junia or Iunia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome, and on the expulsion of Tarquin in 509 BC, he became one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Loomis Davenport</span> American actor

Edward Loomis Davenport was an American actor.

<i>Et tu, Brute?</i> Latin phrase made famous by Shakespeares Julius Caesar

Et tu, Brute? is a Latin phrase literally meaning "and you, Brutus?" or "also you, Brutus?", often translated as "You as well, Brutus?", "You too, Brutus?", or "Even you, Brutus?". The quote appears in Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, where it is spoken by the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, at the moment of his assassination, to his friend Marcus Junius Brutus, upon recognizing him as one of the assassins. Contrary to popular belief, the words are not Caesar's last in the play, as he says "Then fall, Caesar" right after. The first known occurrences of the phrase are said to be in two earlier Elizabethan plays: Henry VI, Part 3 by Shakespeare, and an even earlier play, Caesar Interfectus, by Richard Edes. The phrase is often used apart from the plays to signify an unexpected betrayal by a friend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decimus Junius Silanus (consul)</span> Consul in 62 BC, husband of Servilia

Decimus Junius Silanus was a consul of the Roman Republic. He may have been the son of Marcus Junius Silanus, consul in 109 BC. He was the stepfather of Marcus Junius Brutus, having married Brutus' mother, Servilia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junius Brutus Booth Jr.</span> American actor and theatre manager (1821–1883)

Junius Brutus Booth Jr. was an American actor and theatre manager.

Brutus is a Latin surname, which usually refers to Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the assassins of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar.

Decimus Junius Brutus was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 77 BC.

Brutus Junius Clay II was an American businessman, political figure and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of William Shakespeare (New York City)</span> Bronze statue by John Quincy Adams Ward

William Shakespeare is an outdoor bronze sculpture of William Shakespeare by John Quincy Adams Ward, located in Central Park in Manhattan, New York. The statue was created in 1870 and unveiled in Central Park in 1872. Four thousand dollars towards the funding of the statue was raised at a benefit performance of Julius Caesar on November 24, 1864, performed by the sons of Junius Brutus Booth at the Winter Garden Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last words of Julius Caesar</span>

The last words of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar are disputed. Ancient chroniclers reported a variety of phrases and post-classical writers have elaborated on the phrases and their interpretation. The two most common theories – prevalent as early as the second century AD – are that he said nothing or that he said, in Greek, καὶ σύ, τέκνον.

Lucius Junius Brutus; Father of his Country is a Restoration tragedy play by Nathaniel Lee from 1680. It depicts the life of Roman statesman Lucius Junius Brutus. It was first staged at the Dorset Garden Theatre by the Duke's Company.

John Mills (c.1670–1736) was a British stage actor. A long-standing part of the Drury Lane company from 1695 until his death, he appeared in both comedies and tragedies. His wife Margaret Mills was an actress, and his son William Mills also became an actor at Drury Lane.

The Patriot, or, The Italian Conspiracy is a 1702 tragedy by the English writer Charles Gildon. Based on the life of Cosimo de' Medici but also inspired by Nathaniel Lee's 1680 work Lucius Junius Brutus set during the Roman Republic.

References

  1. Ellison p.30

Bibliography