Zara

About the show

Zara is a 1736 tragedy by the British writer Aaron Hill, based on the 1732 French play Zaïre by Voltaire. As in Voltaire's original, Hill's play, set during the Crusades, tells the story of Zara, a Christian slave. The original Drury Lane cast included Susannah Maria Cibber as Zara, William Milward as Lusignan, Theophilus Cibber as Nerestan, Edward Berry as Chatillon, Richard Cross as Melidor and Hannah Pritchard as Selima. The incidental music was composed by Thomas Arne.