The Rival Fools | |
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Written by | Colley Cibber |
Date premiered | 11 January 1709 [1] |
Place premiered | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane |
Original language | English |
Genre | Comedy |
The Rival Fools is a 1709 comedy play by the British writer Colley Cibber. It drew inspiration from the earlier play Wit at Several Weapons . Despite Cibber's previous record of turning out hits, it was not a great success.
The original Drury Lane cast featured William Pinkethman as Sir Oliver Outwit, Robert Wilks as Young Outwit, Barton Booth as Cunningham, William Bullock as Sir Gregory Goose, Colley Cibber as Samuel Simpson, George Pack as Sir Threadbare, Theophilus Keene as Priscian, Anne Oldfield as Lucinda, Mary Porter as Mirabel and Elizabeth Willis as Governess. [2]
The Lost Lover; or The Jealous Husband: A Comedy, Delarivier Manley's first published play, was performed in March 1696 at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The performance ran only three nights.
The Refusal, Or, The Ladies Philosophy is a 1721 comedy play by the British writer Colley Cibber. It is a reworking of the 1672 farce Les Femmes Savantes by Molière, with reference to the recent South Sea Bubble.
The Provoked Husband is a 1728 comedy play by the British writer and actor Colley Cibber, based on a fragment of play written by John Vanbrugh. It is also known by the longer title The Provok'd Husband: or, a Journey to London.
The Masquerade is a 1719 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson.
The Rival Modes is a 1727 comedy play by the British writer James Moore Smythe.
A Plot and No Plot is a 1697 comedy play by the English writer John Dennis.
The Sham Lawyer is a 1697 comedy play by the English writer James Drake. It is also known by the longer title The Sham Lawyer, or, the Lucky Extravagant.
The Cobbler of Preston is a 1716 comedy play by Christopher Bullock, although a separate play of the same title was written by Charles Johnson the same year. A one-act afterpiece is the origin of the phrase "Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes". In the preface to the published version Bullock suggested that he had begun writing the play just four days before its premiere. It takes inspiration from The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare and is set in Preston, Lancashire. The town had recently been scene of fighting during the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion at the Battle of Preston. Bullock's play does not overtly reference the rebellion, but has undertones supportive of the Hanoverian Dynasty.
The Double Gallant is a 1707 comedy play by the British writer Colley Cibber.
Sir Courtly Nice: Or, It Cannot Be is a 1685 comedy play by the English writer John Crowne. Rehearsals by the United Company were underway when the death of Charles II in February led to the closure of all theatres as a mark of respect. The play was eventually staged on 9 May at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It is the tradition of the Restoration Comedy. A popular hit it became a stock part of the repertoire for more than a century, with Colley Cibber and Anne Oldfield appearing in a celebrated 1709 revival.
A Very Good Wife is a 1693 comedy play by the English writer George Powell. It was first performed by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with a cast that included Powell as Courtwitt, John Hodgson as Wellborn, William Bowen as Squeezwit, George Bright as Venture, Joseph Haines as Sneaksby, Colley Cibber as Aminadab, Susanna Mountfort as Annabella, Frances Maria Knight as Widow Lacy, Elinor Leigh as Mrs Sneaksby.
The Marriage-Hater Matched is a comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in January 1692. The original cast included John Bowman as Brainless, William Mountfort as Sir Philip Freewit, Samuel Sandford as Limber, John Hodgson as Darewell, Anthony Leigh as Myn Here Van Grin, George Bright as Bias, Thomas Doggett as Solon, William Bowen as Callow, Colley Cibber as Splutter, Elizabeth Barry as Lady Subtle, Katherine Corey as Lady Bumfiddle, Anne Bracegirdle as Phoebe, Charlotte Butler as La Pupsey and Abigail Lawson as Margery.
Sir Anthony Love; Or, The Rambling Lady is a 1690 comedy play by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was originally staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with a cast that included Susanna Mountfort in a breeches role as Sir Anthony Love, William Mountfort as Valentine, Joseph Williams as Ilford, William Bowen as Sir Gentle Golding, Anthony Leigh as An Abbe, John Hodgson as Count Canaile, Samuel Sandford as Count Verole, George Bright as Waitwell, Colley Cibber as Servant to Sir Gentle, Charlotte Butler as Floriante, Anne Bracegirdle as Charlote and Frances Maria Knight as Volante. The play's incidental music was composed by Henry Purcell.
Alphonso, King of Naples is a 1690 tragedy by the English writer George Powell.
The Carless Husband is a comedy play by the English writer Colley Cibber. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 7 December 1704. The original cast featured Cibber as Lord Foppington, George Powell as Lord Morelove, Robert Wilks as Sir Charles Easy, Anne Oldfield as Lady Betty Modish, Frances Maria Knight as Lady Easy, Henrietta Moore as Lady Graveairs and Jane Lucas as Mrs Edging. It has been described as Cibber's most successful play, and provided a vehicle for his popular foppish Lord Foppington personae.
Love Makes A Man; Or, The Fop's Fortune' is a 1700 comedy play by the English writer Colley Cibber. It borrows elements from two Jacobean plays The Elder Brother and The Custom of the Country by John Fletcher.
The Lying Lover; Or, The Lady's Friendship is a 1703 comedy play by the Irish writer Richard Steele. It was his second play, written while he was an army office doing garrison duty in Harwich during the War of the Spanish Succession. It is described as being both a restoration comedy and a sentimental comedy, and marked the transition between the two.
Jane Lucas was an English stage actress and singer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. From around 1693 she was a member of the United Company based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. In 1697 she had fellow actor Colley Cibber arrested, although the reason was not clear and she remained acting in the company alongside him for some years afterwards.
The Campaigners; Or, The Pleasant Adventures At Brussels is a 1698 comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane by Christopher Rich's Company.
Woman's Wit is a 1697 comedy play by the English writer Colley Cibber. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Cibber had originally written the play for the performers of Thomas Betterton's company at Lincoln's Inn Fields and he partly attributed the work's failure to the differing qualities styles of the rival Drury Lane company. The original Drury Lane cast included Cibber as Longville, William Pinkethman as Major Rakish, George Powell as Jack Rakish, Thomas Doggett as Johnny, Mary Powell as Lady Manlove, Jane Rogers as Emilia, Catherine Cibber as Olivia and Mary Kent as Lettice.