The Force of Ridicule

About the show

The Force of Ridicule is a 1796 comedy play by the British writer Thomas Holcroft. The original Drury Lane cast included John Palmer, William Barrymore, Richard Suett, Robert Palmer, Charles Kemble, John Bannister, Maria Theresa Kemble and Elizabeth Farren. According to James Boaden, the play was "perdurably damned” after its opening night and never performed again. The manuscript of the play was never published and its sources were only hinted at in Biographica Dramatica, where it was mentioned that it was believed to have been derived from French. The failure of the play was seen as so great, Holcroft did not attempt any further playwriting for another two years.