Charles Dance (1794–1863) was an English playwright active in the early 19th century.

Biography

Dance was the son of George Dance, architect. During thirty years he was in the office of the late insolvent debtors' court, in which he was successively registrar, taxing officer, and chief clerk, retiring ultimately upon a superannuation allowance. Alone or in collaboration with

James Planché James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796 – 30 May 1880) was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including ...

or others he wrote many pieces, chiefly of the lightest description, which were produced at the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

or other theatres. So great was his success in supplying Madame Vestris with extravaganzas that he was spoken of as a founder of a new order of burlesque. His pieces, which are mostly printed in Lacy's ‘Acting Edition of Plays,’ John Duncombe's ‘British Theatre,’

Webster's ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...

‘Acting National Drama,’ and John Miller's ‘Modern Acting Drama,’ cover a period of nearly a quarter of a century. Some of his comediettas or farces, as ''The Bengal Tiger'', ''Delicate Ground'', ''A Morning Call'', ''Who speaks first'', and ''Naval Engagements'', continued to be occasionally revived up to the end of the 19th century, and one of his pieces was translated into German. Among his extravaganzas the best known is ''Olympic Revels'', with which, 3 January 1831, Madame Vestris—the first feminine lessee of a theatre, according to the prologue, by

John Hamilton Reynolds John Hamilton Reynolds (9 September 1794 – 15 November 1852) was an English poet, satirist, critic, and playwright. He was a close friend and correspondent of poet John Keats, whose letters to Reynolds constitute a significant body of Keats' po ...

, spoken on the occasion—opened the Olympic. Other pieces in which Dance had more or less share are, ''Alive and Merry'', a farce; ''Lucky Stars'', a burletta; ''Advice Gratis'', a farce; ''A Wonderful Woman'', comic drama; ''Blue Beard'', a musical burletta; ''A Dream of the Future'', a comedy; ''The Victor vanquished'', a comedy; ''Marriage a Lottery'', a comedy; ''The Stock Exchange'', a comic drama; ''The Paphian Bower'', an extravaganza; ''Telemachus'', an extravaganza; ''Pleasant Dreams'', a farce; ''The Country Squire'', a comedy; ''Toquet with the Tuft'', a burletta; ''Puss in Boots'', a burletta; ''Sons and Systems'', a burletta; ''The Burlington Arcade'',’ a burletta; ''Izaak Walton'', a drama; ''The Beulah Spa'', a burletta; ''The Dustman's Belle'', a comic drama; ''A Match in the Dark,'' a comedietta; and ''The Water Party'', a farce. During his later years Dance was a well-known figure at the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Ar ...

. Dance was twice married, and survived both his wives. He lived in Mornington Road, not far from

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, and died at Lowestoft, whither he had returned for his health, 5 January 1863. His illness was heart disease.

References

External links

*Plays by Dance:
The Beulah Spa: A Burletta in Two Acts
(1833)
Pleasant Dreams: A Farce
(1834) ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Dance, Charles 1794 births 1863 deaths English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century British dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers