The Adventures of Five Hours

About the show

The Adventures of Five Hours is a 1663 comedy play by the English writer Sir Samuel Tuke, 1st Baronet. Based on the play Los empenos de seis horas by Antonio Coello, It is an early example of the developing Restoration comedy tradition. Its success led to a series of sentimental plays in the Spanish style about love and honour, very different to the more sophisticated and cynical comedies which the Restoration era became known for. Performed by The Duke's Company, it premiered at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. The original cast included Thomas Betterton as Don Henriq, Henry Harris as Antonio, Cave Underhill as Diego, Samuel Sandford as Ernesto, William Smith as Corrigidor, John Young as Octavio, Hester Davenport as Camilla, Jane Long as Flora and Mary Betterton as Portia. It ran for thirteen straight performances, a considerable hit by the time.