David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Samuel Johnson. He appeared in several amateur theatricals, and with his appearance in the title role of Shakespeare's Richard III, audiences and managers began to take notice.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1737.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1741.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1759.
Arthur Murphy, also known by the pseudonym Charles Ranger, was an Irish writer and barrister. He established himself in London as a leading playwright.
In his own time, William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was rated as merely one among many talented playwrights and poets, but since the late 17th century has been considered the supreme playwright and poet of the English language.
Bardolatry is excessive admiration of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare has been known as "the Bard" since the eighteenth century. One who idolizes Shakespeare is known as a bardolator. The term bardolatry, derived from Shakespeare's sobriquet "the Bard of Avon" and the Greek word latria "worship", was coined by George Bernard Shaw in the preface to his collection Three Plays for Puritans published in 1901. Shaw professed to dislike Shakespeare as a thinker and philosopher because Shaw believed that Shakespeare did not engage with social problems as Shaw did in his own plays.
The Orphan of Zhao is a Chinese play from the Yuan dynasty, attributed to the 13th-century dramatist Ji Junxiang (紀君祥). The play has as its full name The Great Revenge of the Orphan of Zhao. The play is classified in the zaju genre of dramas. It is divided in six parts, comprising five acts and a wedge, which may be an interlude or — as it is in this case — a prologue. It contains both dialogue and songs.
The Tragical History of King Richard Iii, Alter'd From Shakespeare (1699) is a history play written by Colley Cibber. It is based on William Shakespeare's Richard III, but reworked for Williamite audiences.
The History of King Lear is an adaptation by Nahum Tate of William Shakespeare's King Lear. It first appeared in 1681, some seventy-five years after Shakespeare's version, and is believed to have replaced Shakespeare's version on the English stage in whole or in part until 1838. While Tate's version proved extremely popular on the stage, the response of literary critics has generally been negative.
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.
William Powell (1735–1769) was an English actor.
L'Orphelin de la Chine is a 1753 French play by Voltaire based on The Orphan of Zhao, a thirteenth-century Chinese play attributed to Ji Junxiang.
The Shakespeare Ladies Club refers to a group of upper class and aristocratic women who petitioned the London theatres to produce William Shakespeare's plays during the 1730s. In the 1700s they were referred to as "the Ladies of the Shakespear’s Club," or even more simply as "Ladies of Quality," or "the Ladies." Known members of the Shakespeare Ladies Club include Susanna Ashley-Cooper, Elizabeth Boyd, and Mary Cowper. The Shakespeare Ladies Club was responsible for getting the highest percentage of Shakespeare plays produced in London during a single season in the eighteenth century; as a result they were celebrated by their contemporaries as being responsible for making Shakespeare popular again.
Jael Henrietta Pye, born Jael Mendez, was an English writer. She is known to have authored four works, all of different genres: a piece of garden writing, a collection of poetry, a play, and a two-volume novel. She is perhaps best known for A Short Account, of the Principal Seats and Gardens, in and about Twickenham (1760), an account of the Twickenham homes of various Georgian eminences.
Elmerick, or Justice Triumphant is a 1740 tragedy by the British writer George Lillo. It was performed posthumously following his death the year before. It portrays the assassination of Gertrude of Merania, the consort of Andrew II of Hungary, and the play is part of the so-called Bánk bán tradition.
Regulus is a 1744 tragedy by the British writer William Havard. It portrays the career of Marcus Atilius Regulus, a Roman Consul at the time of the First Punic War. It ran for seven performances during the season.
The Way to Keep Him is a 1760 comedy play by the Irish writer Arthur Murphy. Originally three-acts in length, it premiered at the Drury Lane Theatre in a double bill with Murphy's The Desert Island. Actor-manager David Garrick appeared in both productions. A great success, the following year it was extended to five acts, with music composed by Thomas Arne to accompany it. It had many revivals well into the nineteenth century.
The Roman Father is a 1750 tragedy by the British writer and future Poet Laureate William Whitehead. It is set during the reign of Tullus Hostilius, the legendary third King of Rome and his war with the neighbouring city of Alba Longa.
Astley Bransby was an English stage actor and theatre manager who was a long-standing member of the company of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane under David Garrick. His first known performance was Captain Plume in George Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer in 1744 at the Haymarket where he was part of a group of young actors being trained by Charles Macklin. The following year he made his first appearance at Drury Lane and remained there for three decades, with the expection of a four-year spell at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden from 1749 to 1753. He played a vast number of supporting roles in the repertory as well as occasionally originating new roles. He retired from thestage in 1777 from ill health. He was a co-manager of Richmond Theatre.
