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Caelia, or, The Perjur'd Lover is a 1732 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The play's epilogue was written by Henry Fielding. The original Drury Lane cast included Jane Cibber as Caelia, John Mills as Meanwell, Thomas Hallam as Bellamy, Roger Bridgewater as Lovemore, William Mills as Wronglove, James Oates as Keeper of Prison, Edward Berry as Gentleman, John Harper as the Constable, Frances Cross as Wag and Charlotte Charke as Mrs Lupine.
Love in a Forest is a 1723 comedy play by Charles Johnson. It is a substantial reworking of Shakespeare's As You Like It cutting out characters and passages, while borrowing from other Shakespeare plays amongst other things. The original Drury Lane cast included Charles Williams as Duke Frederick, Barton Booth as Alberto, Colley Cibber as Jacques, John Corey as Amiens, John Thurmond as Oliver, Robert Wilks as Orlando, John Roberts as Roberto, John Mills as Adam, Theophilus Cibber as Le Beau, William Mills as Charles, Hester Santlow as Rosalind, Sarah Thurmond as Celia, William Penkethman as Pyramus, Henry Norris as Wall and Joe Miller as Thisbe.
Medea is a 1730 play by the British writer Charles Johnson. It is about Medea from Greek mythology and based on the play Medea by Euripides. The original Drury Lane cast included Mary Porter as Medea, Robert Wilks as Jason, William Mills as Aegeus, Christiana Horton as Ethra, John Mills as Creon, Sarah Thurmond as Creusa, Thomas Hallam as Eumelus and John Corey as Therapion.
A short farce built around the Induction’s practical joke, omitting the Petruchio and Katherina story. Johnson renames the tinker Kit Sly.
The Country Lasses: or, The Custom of the Manor is a 1715 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Modely, Barton Booth as Heartwell, John Mills as Freehold, Benjamin Johnson as Sir John English, Joe Miller as Sneak, Richard Cross as Carbuncle, Henry Norris as Tim Shacklefigure, James Quin as Vulture, Susanna Mountfort as Flora, Hester Santlow as Aura. The play was dedicated to Thomas Pelham, Earl of Clare, a Whig politician and patron of the arts. It was a popular success and remained in the repertoire for the next century.
The Female Fortune Teller is a 1726 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. It is a reworking of Edward Ravenscroft's 1683 restoration comedy Dame Dobson. The original cast featured James Quin as Spring, Lacy Ryan as Ringwood, Thomas Walker as Sir Charles Mirmont, John Hippisley as Owen Apwigeon, Jane Egleton as Mrs Joiner, Henrietta Morgan as Frances, Anne Parker as Astrea and Elizabeth Younger as Scuttle.
The Masquerade is a 1719 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Sir George Jealous, Thomas Elrington as Ombre, Joe Miller as Smart, Colley Cibber as Masquerader, Henry Norris as Whisper, Anne Oldfield as Sophronia, Sarah Thurmond as Lady Frances Ombre and Christiana Horton as Caelia.
In the play, Avery goes under the name Arviragus, and has made himself a king in Madagascar. He captures the Indian princess Zaida and tries to force her to marry him, but she is in love with a young man named Aranes. There is an offstage fight and Aranes is reported killed; meanwhile, De Sale, who has confided to the audience that he plots to overthrow Arviragus and make himself king, ingratiates himself with Zaida. De Sale's fellow plotters are bumbling incompetents and their plans are easily thwarted, followed by a comic trial scene. It is revealed that Aranes is Arviragus' long lost son, whom he recognizes from a bracelet, and that he is still alive, his friend Alvarez having died in his place. The plotters are executed and Aranes and Zaida marry.
The Sultaness is a 1717 tragedy by the British writer Charles Johnson. It is a reworking of the 1672 French play Bajazet by Jean Racine set in the Ottoman Empire. In common with early eighteenth century plays it places much greater emphasis on the emotional anguish of its female characters than Racine's original. Like other plays set in Ottoman courts there may have been subtle parallels with contemporary British politics, particularly the divisions between George I and his son George, Prince of Wales. More strongly the play references the ongoing Austro-Turkish War and the role of Prince Eugene of Savoy who later that year won a major victory at the Siege of Belgrade. The original cast included Barton Booth as Bajazet, Mary Porter as Roxana, Anne Oldfield as Atalida, John Mills as Acomat and Lacy Ryan as Osmyn. Johnson used the preface of the play to attack the recent comedy Three Hours After Marriage by John Gay and Alexander Pope, provoking a long-standing rivalry. In 1720 it was followed at Drury Lane by another oriental-set drama The Siege of Damascus by John Hughes, which took a more original approach.
The Victim is a 1714 tragedy by the British writer Charles Johnson. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Agamemnon, Barton Booth as Achilles, Theophilus Keene as Ulysses, John Mills as Menelaus, Lacy Ryan as Arcas, Christopher Bullock as Euribartes, Frances Maria Knight as Clytemnestra, Mary Porter as Iphigenia and Anne Oldfield as Eriphile. The epilogue was written by Colley Cibber.
The Wife's Relief, or, The Husband's Cure is a 1711 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The plot revolves around a virtuous wife who tries to mend her husband's rakish ways. The cast included Robert Wilks as Volatil, Colley Cibber as Riot, Anne Oldfield as Arabella, Barton Booth as Horatio, Thomas Doggett as Sir Tristram Cash, Lacy Ryan as Valentine, Henry Norris as Spitfire, Christopher Bullock as Hazard, Mary Willis as Teraminta and Jane Rogers as Cynthia. It lasted seven nights, considered a good run for a play at the time.
Caelia, or, The Perjur'd Lover is a 1732 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The play's epilogue was written by Henry Fielding. The original Drury Lane cast included Jane Cibber as Caelia, John Mills as Meanwell, Thomas Hallam as Bellamy, Roger Bridgewater as Lovemore, William Mills as Wronglove, James Oates as Keeper of Prison, Edward Berry as Gentleman, John Harper as the Constable, Frances Cross as Wag and Charlotte Charke as Mrs Lupine.
Love in a Forest is a 1723 comedy play by Charles Johnson. It is a substantial reworking of Shakespeare's As You Like It cutting out characters and passages, while borrowing from other Shakespeare plays amongst other things. The original Drury Lane cast included Charles Williams as Duke Frederick, Barton Booth as Alberto, Colley Cibber as Jacques, John Corey as Amiens, John Thurmond as Oliver, Robert Wilks as Orlando, John Roberts as Roberto, John Mills as Adam, Theophilus Cibber as Le Beau, William Mills as Charles, Hester Santlow as Rosalind, Sarah Thurmond as Celia, William Penkethman as Pyramus, Henry Norris as Wall and Joe Miller as Thisbe.
Medea is a 1730 play by the British writer Charles Johnson. It is about Medea from Greek mythology and based on the play Medea by Euripides. The original Drury Lane cast included Mary Porter as Medea, Robert Wilks as Jason, William Mills as Aegeus, Christiana Horton as Ethra, John Mills as Creon, Sarah Thurmond as Creusa, Thomas Hallam as Eumelus and John Corey as Therapion.
A short farce built around the Induction’s practical joke, omitting the Petruchio and Katherina story. Johnson renames the tinker Kit Sly.
The Country Lasses: or, The Custom of the Manor is a 1715 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Modely, Barton Booth as Heartwell, John Mills as Freehold, Benjamin Johnson as Sir John English, Joe Miller as Sneak, Richard Cross as Carbuncle, Henry Norris as Tim Shacklefigure, James Quin as Vulture, Susanna Mountfort as Flora, Hester Santlow as Aura. The play was dedicated to Thomas Pelham, Earl of Clare, a Whig politician and patron of the arts. It was a popular success and remained in the repertoire for the next century.
The Female Fortune Teller is a 1726 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. It is a reworking of Edward Ravenscroft's 1683 restoration comedy Dame Dobson. The original cast featured James Quin as Spring, Lacy Ryan as Ringwood, Thomas Walker as Sir Charles Mirmont, John Hippisley as Owen Apwigeon, Jane Egleton as Mrs Joiner, Henrietta Morgan as Frances, Anne Parker as Astrea and Elizabeth Younger as Scuttle.
The Masquerade is a 1719 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Sir George Jealous, Thomas Elrington as Ombre, Joe Miller as Smart, Colley Cibber as Masquerader, Henry Norris as Whisper, Anne Oldfield as Sophronia, Sarah Thurmond as Lady Frances Ombre and Christiana Horton as Caelia.
In the play, Avery goes under the name Arviragus, and has made himself a king in Madagascar. He captures the Indian princess Zaida and tries to force her to marry him, but she is in love with a young man named Aranes. There is an offstage fight and Aranes is reported killed; meanwhile, De Sale, who has confided to the audience that he plots to overthrow Arviragus and make himself king, ingratiates himself with Zaida. De Sale's fellow plotters are bumbling incompetents and their plans are easily thwarted, followed by a comic trial scene. It is revealed that Aranes is Arviragus' long lost son, whom he recognizes from a bracelet, and that he is still alive, his friend Alvarez having died in his place. The plotters are executed and Aranes and Zaida marry.
The Sultaness is a 1717 tragedy by the British writer Charles Johnson. It is a reworking of the 1672 French play Bajazet by Jean Racine set in the Ottoman Empire. In common with early eighteenth century plays it places much greater emphasis on the emotional anguish of its female characters than Racine's original. Like other plays set in Ottoman courts there may have been subtle parallels with contemporary British politics, particularly the divisions between George I and his son George, Prince of Wales. More strongly the play references the ongoing Austro-Turkish War and the role of Prince Eugene of Savoy who later that year won a major victory at the Siege of Belgrade. The original cast included Barton Booth as Bajazet, Mary Porter as Roxana, Anne Oldfield as Atalida, John Mills as Acomat and Lacy Ryan as Osmyn. Johnson used the preface of the play to attack the recent comedy Three Hours After Marriage by John Gay and Alexander Pope, provoking a long-standing rivalry. In 1720 it was followed at Drury Lane by another oriental-set drama The Siege of Damascus by John Hughes, which took a more original approach.
The Victim is a 1714 tragedy by the British writer Charles Johnson. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Agamemnon, Barton Booth as Achilles, Theophilus Keene as Ulysses, John Mills as Menelaus, Lacy Ryan as Arcas, Christopher Bullock as Euribartes, Frances Maria Knight as Clytemnestra, Mary Porter as Iphigenia and Anne Oldfield as Eriphile. The epilogue was written by Colley Cibber.
The Wife's Relief, or, The Husband's Cure is a 1711 comedy play by the British writer Charles Johnson. The plot revolves around a virtuous wife who tries to mend her husband's rakish ways. The cast included Robert Wilks as Volatil, Colley Cibber as Riot, Anne Oldfield as Arabella, Barton Booth as Horatio, Thomas Doggett as Sir Tristram Cash, Lacy Ryan as Valentine, Henry Norris as Spitfire, Christopher Bullock as Hazard, Mary Willis as Teraminta and Jane Rogers as Cynthia. It lasted seven nights, considered a good run for a play at the time.