Mr Foote's Other Leg is a 2015 stage adaptation of Mr Foote's Other Leg: Comedy, tragedy and murder in Georgian London, a 2012 biography of the 18th-century actor Samuel Foote. Both the biography and the play were written by Ian Kelly. The play's prelude is an attempt to steal Foote's amputated leg from the Hunterian Collection, but the drama mainly covers the period from Foote's tutelage under Charles Macklin in the 1740s until his involvement in the controversy surrounding Elizabeth Chudleigh in 1774–76.
The play premiered in London at the Hampstead Theatre, running from 14 September to 17 October 2015, directed by Richard Eyre and designed by Tim Hatley, with Kelly himself as George III, Foote played by Simon Russell Beale, David Garrick by Joseph Millson, Jock Hunter by Forbes Masson, Peg Woffington by Dervla Kirwan, Charles Macklin and Benjamin Franklin by Colin Stinton and Frank Barber by Micah Balfour. [1] The production transferred to the West End to the Haymarket Theatre (a theatre previously run by Foote), with performances from 28 October 2015 [2] to 23 January 2016. [3]
Margaret Woffington, was an Irish actress and socialite of the Georgian era.
Samuel Foote was a Cornish dramatist, actor and theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic opportunity.
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash. It is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate.
Charles Macklin, , was an Irish actor and dramatist who performed extensively at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Macklin revolutionised theatre in the 18th century by introducing a "natural style" of acting. He is also famous for accidentally killing a man during a fight over a wig at the same theatre.
David Haig Collum Ward is an English actor and playwright. He has appeared in West End productions and numerous television and film roles over a career spanning four decades.
Sir Simon Russell Beale is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awards, and a Tony Award. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.
Forbes (Robertson) Masson is a Scottish actor and writer. He is an Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is best known for his roles in classical theatre, musicals, comedies, and appearances in London's West End. He is also known for his comedy partnership with Alan Cumming. Masson and Cumming wrote The High Life, a Scottish situation comedy in which they play the lead characters, Steve McCracken and Sebastian Flight. Characters McCracken and Flight were heavily based on Victor and Barry, famous Scottish comedy alter-egos of Masson and Cumming. Masson also stars in the 2021 film The Road Dance, set on the Isle of Lewis as the Reverend MacIver.
Fred Terry was an English actor and theatrical manager. After establishing his reputation in London and in the provinces for a decade, he joined the company of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree where he remained for four years, meeting his future wife, Julia Neilson. With Neilson, he played in London and on tour for 27 further years, becoming famous in sword and cape roles, such as the title role in The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Terry Johnson is a British dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. Educated at Birmingham University, he worked as an actor from 1971 to 1975, and has been active as a playwright since the early 1980s.
Ian Francis Kelly is a British writer and actor. His works include historical biographies, stage and screenplays.
Henry Compton was an English actor best known for his Shakespearean comic roles.
John Palmer was an actor on the English stage in the eighteenth century. There was also another John Palmer (1728–1768) who was known as Gentleman Palmer. Richard Brinsley Sheridan nicknamed him Plausible Jack.
Mary Wells, afterwards Mrs. Sumbel, was an English actress and memoirist.
John Moody (1727?–1812), original name John Cochran, was an Irish actor.
Mrs Gardner or Sarah Cheney was a British comedic actress and playwright.
Henry Woodward was an English actor, among the most famous in his day for comedy roles.
Thomas Hallam was a British stage actor.
The Lame Lover is a 1770 comedy play by the British writer Samuel Foote. Foote wrote the play while he was recovering from the amputation of his leg, following a riding accident.
George William Lovell was an English dramatist and novelist. His most successful play was The Wife's Secret, staged at the Haymarket Theatre with Charles Kean and his wife Ellen in the principal roles, and revived several times.
The Maid of Bath is a 1771 comedy play by the British actor-manager Samuel Foote. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 26 June 1771. It was inspired by the life of the singer Elizabeth Ann Linley of the Bath-based Linley family. The prologue was written by David Garrick.