| The Maid of Bath | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | Samuel Foote |
| Date premiered | 26 June 1771 |
| Place premiered | Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | Bath, present day |
The Maid of Bath is a 1771 comedy play by the British actor-manager Samuel Foote. [1] It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 26 June 1771. [2] It was inspired by the life of the singer Elizabeth Ann Linley of the Bath-based Linley family. [3] The prologue was written by David Garrick.
Thomas Linley was an English bass and musician active in Bath, Somerset. Born in Badminton, Gloucestershire, Linley began his musical career after he moved to Bath at age 11 and became apprentice to the organist Thomas Chilcot. After his marriage to Mary Johnson in 1752, Linley at first supported his wife and growing family predominantly as a music teacher. As his children grew and he developed their musical talent, he drew an increasing amount of income from their concerts while also managing the assembly rooms in Bath. When the new Bath Assembly Rooms opened in 1771, Linley became musical director and continued to promote his children's careers. He was eventually able to move to London with the thousands of pounds which he had amassed from their concerts.
Walter Long of South Wraxall, near Bradford-on-Avon, the great-great-great grandson of Sir Walter Long of South Wraxall and Draycot, was born in Wiltshire, and inherited along with other family estates, the 15th-century house known as South Wraxall Manor. His ancestors made their wealth initially as clothiers. He served as High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 1764.
Thomas Linley the younger, also known as Thomas Linley Junior or Tom Linley, was the eldest son of the composer Thomas Linley and his wife Mary Johnson. He was one of the most precocious composers and performers that have been known in England. A highly talented violinist, Tom Linley was also the most promising of all native English composers between Purcell and Elgar, combining prodigious talent with a delightful personality. He is sometimes referred to as the "English Mozart". His early promise was cut short when he drowned in a boating accident, aged just 22 years.
Thomas Shaw, also known as Thomas Shaw Jun(ior, was an English violinist, violist, clarinettist and composer who was born c.1752, probably in Bath, and who probably died in Paris on 28 June 1827 or c.1830. Thomas Shaw was the son of Bathonian musician Thomas Shaw and the younger brother of violinist Anthony Shaw. The majority of his career was spent at the Drury Lane theatre in London as an instrumentalist, violin soloist, band leader, musical director and in-house composer.
The Natural Son is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in London in December 1784. The play is notable for the return of the popular character Major O'Flaherty from Cumberland's 1771 play The West Indian.
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.
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A Bold Stroke for a Husband is a 1783 comedy play by the British writer Hannah Cowley. The title is a variation on Susanna Centlivre's A Bold Stroke for a Wife.
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Frances Brett Hodgkinson (1771–1803) was an English-born American theater actress. She played major roles in high comedy and tragedy plays and was also a noted performer of opera. She was the second wife of John Hodgkinson, a famous American stage actor.
Three Weeks after Marriage is a comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. An afterpiece, it premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 30 March 1776. It was a reworking of an earlier play What We Must All Come To which was staged in 1764, which had a poor reception. The cast included William Thomas Lewis as Sir Charles Racket, John Quick as Drugget, Isabella Mattocks as Lady Racket, Ann Pitt as Mrs Drugget and Jane Green as Dimity. The entire play takes place at a country house about four miles outside London.
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.
The London Hermit, Or, Rambles in Dorsetshire is a 1793 comedy play by the Irish writer John O'Keeffe. It was staged at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on 29 June 1793. The original cast included Richard Suett as Whimmy, James Aickin as Old Pranks, John Bannister as Young Pranks, Howard Usher as Barleycorn, Ralph Wewitzer as Barebones, John Henry Johnstone as Tully, William Parsons as Toby Thatch, Lydia Webb as Mrs. Maggs, Elizabeth Kemble as Kitty Barleycorn and Jane Powell as Fishwoman. The prologue was written by George Colman the Younger and spoken by William Barrymore. It was staged at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin in 1795.
The World in a Village is a 1793 comedy play by the Irish writer John O'Keeffe. It was staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 23 November 1793. The original cast included John Powell as Sir Henry Check, John Henry Johnstone as Captain Mullinahack, James Middleton as William Bellevue, Joseph George Holman as Charles, Thomas Hull as Willows, William Cubitt as Captain Vanslueisen, William Macready as Briers, John Fawcett as Master Jack, William Thomas Lewis as Grigsby, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Jollyboy, Harriet Pye Esten as Louisa, Isabella Mattocks as Mrs Allbut and Susan Fawcett as Mrs. Bellevue. It's Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre on 25 November 1794.
The Bank Note: Or Lessons for Ladies is a 1795 comedy play by the Irish writer and actor William Macready the Elder. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 1 May 1795. The original cast included Macready as Lieutenant Selby, Joseph George Holman as Sir Charles Leslie, James Middleton as Bloomfield, Thomas Hull as Father, John Fawcett as Ned Dash, John Quick as Hale, John Henry Johnstone as Killeavy, Edward Townsend as Tim, Isabella Mattocks as Mrs Bloomfield, Mary Ann Davenport as Lady Supple and Tryphosa Jane Wallis as Miss Russel. The Irish premiere took at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 22 April 1796 Its plot draws inspiration from William Taverner's The Artful Husband as well as other earlier plays.
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Fashionable Levities is a 1785 comedy play by the Irish writer Leonard MacNally. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 7 April 1785. The original cast included William Thomas Lewis as Welford, John Quick as Sir Buzzard Savage, Richard Wroughton as Captain Douglas, Ralph Wewitzer as Colonel Staff, John Edwin as Nicholas, John Henderson as Mr Ordeal, Margaret Martyr as Clara, Sarah Maria Wilson as Grace and Mrs Webb as Honour. MacNally dedicated the play to the Anglo-Irish aristocrat the Countess of Salisbury. The Dublin premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre on 5 April 1786.
Know Your Own Mind is a 1777 comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 22 February 1777. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as Millamour, Charles Lee Lewes as Dashwould, Richard Wroughton as Malvil, Francis Aickin as Bygrove, Cockran Joseph Booth as Captain Bygrave, James Fearon as Sir John Millamour, John Whitfield as Sir Harry Lovewith, Ralph Wewitzer as Charles, Servant of Millamour, Isabella Mattocks as Lady Bell, Mary Dayes as Lady Jane and Elizabeth Hartley as Miss Neville. The Irish premiere was at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 13 August 1778. It was acted nineteen times at Covent Garden and in 1789 was revived at Drury Lane, with Dorothea Jordan in the cast, and remained a standard work well into the nineteenth century.
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