''Grieving's a Folly'' is an 1809 comedy play by the British writer Richard Leigh.Valladares p.294 It premiered on 21 April 1809 at the Lyceum Theatre in London, which was being used the

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

company while their own theatre was being rebuilt after a fire. The cast included

Henry Siddons Henry Siddons (4 October 1774 – 12 April 1815) was an English actor and theatrical manager, now remembered as a writer on gesture. Life Siddons was the eldest child of Sarah Siddons, and was educated at Charterhouse School, being intend ...

as Mr Herbert,

Harriet Siddons Harriet Siddons (née Murray; 16 April 1783 2 November 1844), sometimes known as Mrs Henry Siddons, was a Scottish actress and theatre manager. Edinburgh referred to her as "Our" Mrs Siddons to distinguish her from her English mother-in-law ...

as Ellen,

William Dowton William Dowton (1764–1851) was a British actor. Early life Dowton, the son of an innkeeper and grocer at Exeter, was born in that city on 25 April 1764. At an early age he worked with a marble cutter, but in 1780 was articled to an archite ...

as Sir Oliver Cypress, William Powell as Belford, John Bannister as Crape,

John Henry Johnstone John Henry Johnstone (1749–1828), also known as 'Jack' Johnstone or 'Irish' Johnstone, was an Irish actor, comedian and singer. Life Johnstone was born probably on 1 August 1749, in the horse-barracks in Kilkenny, where his father, a quarterm ...

as O'Harrolan, Charles Mathews as Joe Thresher, Walter Maddocks as Jonathon, Jane Powell as Mrs Mordaunt and

Frances Maria Kelly Frances Maria Kelly (15 October 1790, Brighton – 6 December 1882), also known as Fanny, was an English actress and singer. She is best known for her acting at the Drury Lane Theatre in London's West End and her opening of the Royalty Theatre a ...

as Susan Woodburn. The prologue was written and spoken by

Edmund John Eyre Edmund John Eyre (1767–1816), was an English actor and dramatist. Early life Eyre, son of Mary (née Underwood) (c1740-c1796) and the Rev. Ambrose Eyre (c1740 - c1796), rector of Leverington and Outwell, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, was born ...

. It enjoyed a successful run and was published by Longmans the same year. A second play by Leigh ''

Where to Find a Friend ''Where to Find a Friend'' is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Leigh. It premiered on 20 May 1811 at the Lyceum Theatre in London, which was being used the Drury Lane company while their own theatre was being rebuilt after a fire.Gre ...

'' was performed by the company in 1811.

References

Bibliography

* Greene, John C. ''Theatre in Dublin, 1745-1820: A Calendar of Performances, Volume 6''. Lexington Books, 2011. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Nineteenth Century Drama 1800-1850''. Cambridge University Press, 1930. * Valladares, Susan. ''Staging the Peninsular War: English Theatres 1807-1815''. Routledge, 2016. 1809 plays West End plays British plays Comedy plays Plays set in England {{19thC-play-stub