Robert Baddeley (1733–1794) was an English actor. His parentage is unknown, as is his place of birth, though the latter may have been London. He worked as a cook and valet, and one of his employers was the actor-manager Samuel Foote, who may have inspired him to take to the stage. He spent three years following another employer on a Grand Tour, which helped him to develop the facility with languages and accents which was to be a hallmark of his career.
Elizabeth Farren was an Irish actress of the late 18th century. Born in Cork in 1759, her father, George Farren was a surgeon. His drinking habits brought on early death and his widow returned to Liverpool. Her mother went on the stage to support herself and her children. Elizabeth first appeared on the London stage in 1777 as Miss Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer and the following year appeared at Drury Lane which, along with the Haymarket Theatre became her primary venues for the rest of her acting career. She had over 100 characters in her repertoire including Shakespeare and various contemporary comedies and dramas. She was often compared to Frances Abington, who was her only real rival. Her last appearance was in April 1797, two months before her marriage to Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby. They had one daughter.
Francis Aickin, was an Irish actor, who worked at the Edinburgh Theatre in Scotland, and the between 1765 and 1792 in theatres in the West End of London.
James Aickin, was an Irish stage actor who worked at the Edinburgh Theatre in Scotland and in theatres in the West End of London.
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 Fashionable Lover is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in London in January 1772. The original Drury Lane cast included James William Dodd as Lord Aberville, Thomas King as Mortimer, Spranger Barry as Aubrey, Samuel Reddish as Tyrrel, Astley Bransby as Bridgemore, Robert Baddeley as Doctor Druid, Francis Godolphin Waldron as Napthali, John Burton as La Jeunesse, John Moody as Colin Macleod, Ann Street Barry as Augusta Aubrey and Elizabeth Hopkins as Mrs. Bridgemore.
The Impostors is a comedy play by Richard Cumberland. It was first performed at the Drury Lane Theatre in January 1789. The plot closely resembled that of The Beaux' Stratagem by George Farquhar.
The Battle of Hastings is a 1778 play by the English writer Richard Cumberland. It is a tragedy set around the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in October 1778 by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Sheridan later mocked Cumberland's sensitivity to criticism by modelling the character Sir Fretful Plagiary, in his 1779 play The Critic, after him.
The Heiress is a comedy play by the British playwright and soldier John Burgoyne. The play debuted at the Drury Lane Theatre on 14 January 1786. It concerns the engagement of Lord Gayville to Miss Alscrip, a fashionable woman he believes to be an heiress. Gayville later discovers that the woman who really stands to inherit the fortune is his true love Miss Clifford. The play was an enormous success, running for 31 performances in its initial season and being revived again the following year. The play was initially anonymous, but Burgoyne was soon widely reported to be the author and he acknowledged this after the play's debut.
The Brothers is a 1769 comedy play by Richard Cumberland. The play was Cumberland's breakthrough work. Its complicated plot involved a villain with a virtuous young brother and was set partly in Cornwall. He dedicated the play to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom the Duke of Grafton. Two years later Cumberland went on to write his most successful work The West Indian.
Edmund John Eyre (1767–1816) was an English actor and dramatist.
Richard Wroughton (1748–1822), was an actor, who worked mainly in Covent Garden and Drury Lane, and occasionally in the city of his birth, Bath.
Thomas King (1730–1805) was an English actor, known also as a theatre manager and dramatist.
John Henry Johnstone (1749–1828), also known as 'Jack' Johnstone or 'Irish' Johnstone, was an Irish actor, comedian and singer. He was a notable performer of Stage Irishman roles.
John Moody (1727?–1812), original name John Cochran, was an Irish actor.
Samuel Cautherley (c.1747–1805) was a British stage actor. His surname is sometimes spelt as Cautherly.
The Castle of Montval is a tragedy by the British writer Thomas Sedgwick Whalley. It was first published in 1781, but wasn't staged in London's West End until 23 April 1799 when it appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane where it succeeded The East Indian by Matthew Lewis. The Drury Lane cast included Sarah Siddons as Countess of Montval, John Philip Kemble as the Old Count, James Aickin as Count of Colmar, Charles Holland as Count of Montval, Charles Kemble as Marquis of Vaublane, William Barrymore as Lapont, John Hayman Packer as Blaise, Jane Powell as Matilda and Elizabeth Heard as Teresa. It was part of the tend of Gothic plays popular during the era.
The Choleric Man is a 1774 comedy play by the British author Richard Cumberland. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 December 1774. The original cast included Thomas King as Andrew Nightshade, James Aickin as Manlove, John Hayman Packer as Stapleton, Samuel Reddish as Charles Manlove, Thomas Weston as Jack Nightshade, Robert Baddeley as Dibble, John Moody as Gregory, Francis Godolphin Waldron as Frampton. Roger Wright as Frederick, Elizabeth Hopkins as Mrs Stapleton, Frances Abington as Laetitia and Jane Pope as Lucy. The play's Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 14 April 1777. It also appeared later at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden.
The Double Deception is a 1779 comedy play by the British writer Elizabeth Richardson. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 28 April 1779, and was her only play. The original cast included James William Dodd as Flippant, William Parsons as Welford, James Aickin as Fairgrove, Robert Baddeley as Rudely, Francis Godolphin Waldron as Robin, John Palmer as Sir Henry Varnish, Elizabeth Farren as Louisa Freemore, Elizabeth Hopkins as Lady Varnish, Priscilla Brereton as Sophia Welford, Jane Pope as Kitty.
The Dependent is a 1795 comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 20 October 1795. The original cast included Thomas King as Lord Leverington, Richard Suett as Sir Clement Canteser, John Philip Kemble as Edmund D'Alincourt, James Aickin as Carrington, John Bannister as Gabriel Wrinkle, George Wathen as Isaac, John Phillimore as Thomas, Walter Maddocks as Harry, Jane Pope as Mrs Margaret and Elizabeth Farren as Jane.
