''Laugh When You Can'' is a 1798 comedy play by the British writer Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in London on 8 December 1798. The original cast included

William Thomas Lewis William Thomas Lewis (1748?–1811), known as "Gentleman" Lewis, due to his refined acting style, was an English actor. He was said to be "the most complete fop on the stage". In later life he went into theatrical management. Early days in Ir ...

as Gossamer,

Joseph Shepherd Munden Joseph Shepherd Munden (1758 – 6 February 1832) was an English actor. He had a long provincial experience as actor and manager. His first London appearance was in 1790 at Covent Garden, where he mostly remained until 1811, becoming a lea ...

as Bonus, Joseph George Holman as Mortimer,

John Fawcett John Fawcett may refer to: *John Fawcett (theologian) (1739–1817), British theologian, pastor and hymn writer *John Fawcett (of Bolton) (1789–1867), composer/musician *John Fawcett (organist) (1825–1857), his son, English organist *John Fawce ...

as Sambo, John Whitfield as Delville, Edward Townsend as Costly, James Thompson as Farmer Blackbrook,

Samuel Simmons Samuel Simmons (1640–1687) was an English printer, best known as the first publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditional ...

as Waiter, Mary Ann Pope as Mrs. Mortimer, Maria Gibbs as Dorothy and Isabella Mattocks as Mrs Gloomly. The Irish premiere was at the

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in Dublin on Dublin on 17 April 1799.Greene p.4506

References

Bibliography

* Greene, John C. ''Theatre in Dublin, 1745-1820: A Calendar of Performances, Volume 6''. Lexington Books, 2011. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660–1900: Volume IV''. Cambridge University Press, 2009. 1798 plays Comedy plays West End plays British plays Plays by Frederic Reynolds Plays set in England {{play-stub