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The Cruel Gift
''The Cruel Gift: A Tragedy'' is a tragedy (with an unusual happy ending) written by Susanna Centlivre, first performed at Drury Lane in 1716 (and published in 1717). Nicholas Rowe wrote the play's epilogue. The story of ''Ghismunda and Guiscardo'' in ''The Decameron'' (retold by John Dryden as the poem ''Sigismonda and Guiscardo'' (1700)) was an influence on Centlivre's play. Plot The King of Lombardy has a daughter, Leonora, who has secretly married Lorenzo, the King's General. As the King is extremely possessive of his daughter, he is furious when he discovers that she has married below her social station. Lorenzo is imprisoned, but he is popular among the citizens and they start to arm themselves, calling for his freedom. The King orders that Lorenzo's heart be ripped out and sent to Leonora (the 'cruel gift'). Antenor (the King's Prime Minister) orders his son Learchus to carry out the deed. Leonora takes the initial news of Lorenzo's death calmly, but breaks down when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsis, or a "pain hatawakens pleasure", for the audience. While many cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, the term ''tragedy'' often refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilization. That tradition has been multiple and discontinuous, yet the term has often been used to invoke a powerful effect of cultural identity and historical continuity—"the Greeks and the Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity," as Raymond Williams puts it. From its origins in the theatre of ancient Greece 2500 years ago, from which there survives only a fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Porter (actress)
Mary Porter (died 24 February 1765) was an English actress. Life She was brought to the attention of Betterton by Elizabeth Barry, who had seen her play the Fairy Queen at Bartholomew Fair. In his company she made her first appearance in 1699, in tragedy, in which she was at her best, although she also played a long list of comedy parts. When her friends, Mrs Barry, Mrs Bracegirdle and Mrs Oldfield, had retired from the stage, she was left its undisputed queen. In 1713 she appeared in John Gay's comedy '' The Wife of Bath'' at Drury Lane. In 1724 she featured in his tragedy '' The Captives'' as Astarbe, Queen of Media. Selected roles * Mirabel in ''The Rival Fools'' by Colley Cibber (1709) * Alicia in ''Jane Shore'' by Nicholas Rowe (1714) * Lady Woodvill in '' The Non-Juror'' by Colley Cibber (1717) * Eudocia in ''The Siege of Damascus'' by John Hughes (1720) * Astarbe in '' The Captives'' by John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Plays
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th-century Plays
The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trading and human trafficking expanded across the shores of the Atlantic, while declining in Russia, China, and Korea. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures, including the structures and beliefs that supported slavery. The Industrial Revolution began during mid-century, leading to radical changes in human society and the environment. Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th century may be defined as 1715–1789, denoting the period of time between the death of Louis XIV of France and the start of the French Revolution, with an emphasis on directly interconnected events. To historians who expand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plays By Susanna Centlivre
Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Play Mobile, a Polish internet provider * Xperia Play, an Android phone * Rakuten.co.uk (formerly Play.com), an online retailer * Backlash (engineering), or ''play'', non-reversible part of movement * Petroleum play, oil fields with same geological circumstances * Play symbol, in media control devices Film * ''Play'' (2005 film), Chilean film directed by Alicia Scherson * ''Play'', a 2009 short film directed by David Kaplan * ''Play'' (2011 film), a Swedish film directed by Ruben Östlund * ''Rush'' (2012 film), an Indian film earlier titled ''Play'' and also known as ''Raftaar 24 x 7'' * ''The Play'' (film), a 2013 Bengali film Literature and publications * ''Play'' (play), written by Samuel Beckett * ''Play'' (''The New York Times'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1716 Plays
Events January–March * January 16 – The application of the Nueva Planta decrees to Catalonia make it subject to the laws of the Crown of Castile, and abolishes the Principality of Catalonia as a political entity, concluding the unification of Spain under Philip V. * January 27 – The Tugaloo massacre changes the course of the Yamasee War, allying the Cherokee nation with the British province of South Carolina against the Creek Indian nation. * January 28 – The town of Crieff, Scotland, is burned to the ground by Jacobites returning from the Battle of Sheriffmuir. * February 3 – The 1716 Algiers earthquake sequence began with an 7.0 mainshock that caused severe damage and killed 20,000 in Algeria. * February 10 – James Edward Stuart flees from Scotland to France with a handful of supporters, following the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1715. * February 24 – Jacobite leaders James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater and Wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wilks
Robert Wilks (''c.'' 1665 – 27 September 1732) was a British actor and theatrical manager who was one of the leading managers of Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in its heyday of the 1710s. He was, with Colley Cibber and Thomas Doggett, one of the "triumvirate" of actor-managers that was denounced by Alexander Pope and caricatured by William Hogarth as leaders of the decline in theatrical standards and degradation of the stage's literary tradition. The family was based for many generations in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. His great-uncle, Judge Wilks, had served Charles I of England during the English Civil War, for whom he raised a troop at his own expense. After Oliver Cromwell won the civil war, Wilks' father moved to Dublin, where Robert Wilks was born. He was a clerk to Robert Southwell until he joined the Williamite army. As soon as he was discharged from the army, he worked in the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin from 1691 to 1693. According to Wilks's version of the story ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Walker (actor)
Thomas Walker (1698–1744) was an English actor and dramatist. Early life He was the son of Francis Walker of Soho, London. At around the year 1714, he joined the Shepherd's company (perhaps the Shepherd who was at William Pinkethman's theatre in Greenwich in 1710). Barton Booth saw Walker in a droll, ''The Siege of Troy'', and recommended him to the management of the Drury Lane Theatre. Actor In November 1715 Walker seems to have played Tyrrel in Colley Cibber's ''Richard III''; on 12 December 1715 he was Young Fashion in a revival of ''The Relapse'' (John Vanburgh). On 23 September 1721 he appeared at Lincoln's Inn Fields as Edmund in ''King Lear'', and he remained there until 1733. On 29 January 1728 Walker took on his major original part, Captain Macheath in the ''Beggar's Opera'', and his reputation was established. On 10 February 1733, at the new Covent Garden Theatre, Walker was the first Periphas in John Gay's ''Achilles''.At this house he played Lothario, Banquo, Hec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lacy Ryan
Lacy Ryan (c. 1694–1760), English actor, appeared at the Haymarket Theatre about 1709. Life By 1718 he had joined the company at Lincoln's Inn Fields, where he shared the lead with his friend James Quin. He took leading roles in ''Richard III'' and ''Hamlet'' with Anna Maria Seymour.Roland Metcalf, "Seymour , Anna Maria (c.1692–1723)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200accessed 26 May 2015/ref> In 1719 he appeared in the comedy ''Kensington Gardens'' by John Leigh. In 1732 he followed the company to Covent Garden, and there, he remained until his death. Iago, Cassius, Edgar (in ''King Lear'') and Macduff were among his best parts. Another signature part was the title role in Nathaniel Lee's tragedy ''Theodosius''. Selected roles * Valentine in ''The Wife's Relief'' by Charles Johnson (1711) * Young Gentleman in ''The City Ramble'' by Elkanah Settle (1711) * Marcus in '' Cato'' by Joseph Addison (1713) * Astrolabe in '' The Wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Quin
James Quin (24 February 1693 – 21 January 1766) was an English actor of Irish descent. Life Quin was born in King Street, Covent Garden, London, an illegitimate son of James Quin, an Irish-born barrister, and his partner (whom he apparently never lawfully married) Mrs. Grinsell. He was the grandson of Mark Quin, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1667–8. William Whitshed, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, was his first cousin. He was educated in Dublin, and probably spent some time at Trinity College, Dublin. His grandfather, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who caused a sensation by committing suicide in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin in 1674, supposedly because of his wife's infidelity, was one of the richest men in Dublin. James unsuccessfully claimed a share of the family fortune,Sturgeon, Sinéad "Quin, James" ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' but he could not prove that his parents had been lawfully married, since his mother had a previous husband who was still alive. Soon after his fathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barton Booth
Barton Booth (168210 May 1733) was one of the most famous dramatic actors of the first part of the 18th century. Early life Booth was the son of The Hon and Very Revd Dr Robert Booth (priest), Robert Booth, Dean of Bristol, by his first wife and distant cousin Ann Booth, daughter of Sir Robert Booth (judge), Robert Booth, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and was educated at Westminster School, where his success in the Roman comedy ''Andria (comedy), Andria'' gave him a gave him an inclination for the stage. He was intended for the church, and to attend Trinity College, Cambridge; but in 1698 he ran away and obtained employment in a theatrical company in Dublin, where he made his first appearance as the title character in Aphra Behn's ''Oroonoko''. London success After two seasons in Ireland he returned to London, where Thomas Betterton, who had previously failed to help him, probably out of regard for Booth's family, now gave him all the assistance in his power. At the Lincoln's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Oldfield
Anne Oldfield (168323 October 1730) was an English actress and one of the highest paid actresses of her time. Early life and discovery She was born in London in 1683. Her father was a soldier, James Oldfield. Her mother was either Anne or Elizabeth Blanchard. Her grandfather owned a tavern and left her father several properties, he however mortgaged these which resulted in Anne and her mother being placed in financial difficulty when he died young. It appears that Oldfield received some education because her biographers state that she read widely in her youth. Oldfield and her mother went to live with her aunt, Mrs Voss, in the Mitre tavern, St James. In 1699, she attracted George Farquhar's attention when he overheard her reciting lines from Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's play ''The Scornful Lady'' (1616) in a back room of her tavern. Soon after, she was hired by Christopher Rich to join the cast of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Career A year later she was cast in he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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