''The Amorous Old Woman; Or, 'Tis Well If It Take'' is a 1674

comedy play Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endin ...

by the English writer

Thomas Duffet Thomas Duffet ( fl. 1673 – 1676), or Duffett, was an Irish playwright and songwriter active in England in the 1670s. He is remembered for his popular songs and his burlesques of the serious plays of John Dryden, Thomas Shadwell, Elkanah Se ...

. It was originally staged by the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged wit ...

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, ...

. It was part of the tradition of Restoration comedy. Given the number of younger actors in the cast, it may have been a

lenten Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

play. The original cast included

William Beeston William Beeston (1606? – 1682) was an English actor and theatre manager, the son and successor to the more famous Christopher Beeston. Early phase William was brought up in the theatrical world of his father; he became an actor, and also his ...

as Amante,

Carey Perin Carey Perin (occasionally written as Perrin) was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was a long-standing member of the King's Company based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.Wilson p.23 He then joined the merged United Company in ...

as Cicco,

John Coysh John Coysh was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was a member of the King's Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He first headed a nursery of young actors at Hatton Garden, including the future star Sarah Cooke. He ...

as Riccamare,

Martin Powell Martin Powell is an English musician. In 1991, Powell auditioned for the position of bass player in the band My Dying Bride, but was turned down as the band had just filled the position. Upon informing the band he was also a violin and keyboard ...

as Furfante,

Elizabeth Cox Elizabeth "Betty" Cox was an English stage actress of the seventeenth century. Life Her debut was in March 1671 when she acted Lydia in William Wycherley's '' Love in a Wood'', for the King's Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.Hi ...

as Constantia,

Elizabeth James Elizabeth James was an English stage actress of the seventeenth century. She was a member of the King's Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Several of her known performances were in the premieres of work by John Dryden. She also featu ...

as Arabella,

Elizabeth Boutell Elizabeth Boutell (early 1650s?—1715), was a British actress. Life She joined, soon after its formation, the company at the Theatre Royal, subsequently known as Drury Lane, and was accordingly one of the first women to appear on the English st ...

as Clara and

Katherine Corey Katherine Corey ( fl. 1660 – 1692) was an English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage in Britain. Corey played with the King's Company and the United Company, and had one ...

as Strega.Van Lennep p.214

References

Bibliography

* Canfield, J. Douglas. ''Tricksters and Estates: On the Ideology of Restoration Comedy''. University Press of Kentucky, 2014. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1674 plays West End plays Plays by Thomas Duffet Restoration comedy {{17thC-play-stub