''Hob's Wedding'' is a 1720

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

by the Irish writer John Leigh. An

afterpiece An afterpiece is a short, usually humorous one-act playlet or musical work following the main attraction, the full-length play, and concluding the theatrical evening.p24 "The Chambers Dictionary"Edinburgh, Chambers,2003 This short comedy, farce, o ...

, it premiered at the

Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre Lisle's Tennis Court was a building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, ...

in support of the comedy ''

The Half Pay Officers ''The Half-Pay Officers'' is a 1720 comedy play by the Irish writer Charles Molloy. The play included popular scenes from ''Henry V'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and '' Love and Honour''.Nicoll p.142 It proved popular with audiences and was reviv ...

'' by Charles Molloy. The original cast included William Bullock as Sir Thomas Testy,

John Egleton John Egleton (1698-1727) was a British stage actor. He was a member of the Lincoln's Inn Fields company between 1717 and 1726, and also routinely performed at the summer fairs in London. In 1721 he married the actress Jane Giffard.Johanson p.40 ...

as Woodville, Richard Diggs as Truelove, John Harper as Old Hob,

James Spiller James Spiller (c.1761–1829) was an English architect and surveyor, a close associate of Sir John Soane. His designs included the Church of St John-at-Hackney, and the Great Synagogue, London. Life Spiller was a pupil of the architect James Wy ...

as Young Hob and Jane Rogers as Mary.

References

Bibliography

* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Eighteenth Century Drama: 1700-1750''. CUP Archive, 1927. 1720 plays British plays Irish plays West End plays Comedy plays {{play-stub