''Philotas'' is a 1731
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 ...
by the British writer
Philip Frowde
Philip Frowde (died 1738) was an English poet and dramatist.
Life
Frowde was the son of Ashburnham Frowde, deputy postmaster-general from 1678 to 1688. His grandfather, Colonel Philip Frowde, for his faithful adherence to Charles I of England, Ch ...
.
[Kern p.41] It is based on the life of the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
warrior
Philotas
Philotas ( el, Φιλώτας; 365 BC – October 330 BC) was the eldest son of Parmenion, one of Alexander the Great's most experienced and talented generals. He rose to command the Companion Cavalry, but was accused of conspiring against Alexa ...
who was executed for conspiring against
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
. The story had previously been written as a 1604 play by
Samuel Daniel
Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late- Elizabethan and early- Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle ''Delia'', the epi ...
.
The cast included
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 ...
as Philotas,
James Quin as Clitus,
Anne Berriman as Antigona,
John Ogden as Perdiccas,
Thomas Chapman as Lysimachus,
William Milward
William Milward (1702-1742) was a British stage actor.
He began his career with John Rich's company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre and also appeared at the Haymarket. From 1734 he became part of the company at Drury Lane where he remained f ...
as Arsaces and
Thomas Walker as Cassander.
References
Bibliography
* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992.
* Kearn, Jean B. ''Dramatic Satire in the Age of Walpole, 1720-1750''. Iowa State University Press, 1976.
1731 plays
British plays
West End plays
Tragedy plays
Plays set in ancient Greece
Plays based on real people
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