''The Cobbler of Preston'' (first published as ''The Cobler of Preston'') is a 1716

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 ...

Christopher Bullock Sir Christopher Llewellyn Bullock, KCB, CBE (10 November 1891 – 16 May 1972), a prominent member of the Bullock family, was Permanent Under-Secretary at the British Air Ministry from 1931 to 1936. Appointed at the age of 38, he remains one o ...

, although a separate play of the same title was written by Charles Johnson the same year. A one-act

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, ...

is the origin of the phrase " Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes". In the preface to the published version Bullock suggested that he had begun writing the play just four days before its premiere. It takes inspiration from ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and is set in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

. The town had recently been scene of fighting during the

1715 Jacobite Rebellion The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, lo ...

at the Battle of Preston. Bullock's play does not overtly reference the rebellion, but has undertones supportive of the Hanoverian Dynasty. It first appeared at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre as the afterpiece to a revival of '' The Confederacy'' by John Vanbrugh. The cast included John Ogden as Sir Jasper Manly, James Spiller as Toby Guzzle,

as Snuffle and William Bullock as Grist and Benjamin Griffin as Dorcas Guzzle.

Alternative version

On 3 February 1716 a separate version premiered at the rival

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

, managed by

Robert Wilks Robert Wilks (''c.'' 1665 – 27 September 1732) was a British actor and theatrical manager who was one of the leading managers of Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in its heyday of the 1710s. He was, with Colley Cibber and Thomas Doggett, one of th ...

. A two act

farcical 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 ...

afterpiece written by Charles Johnson it was more overtly political than Bullock's play and ultimately less successful. Johnson's piece is likely to have been written first, with Bullock hearing of its production and deciding to steal a march to get his own version performed first. 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 Sir Charles Briton, Thomas Walker as Captain Jolly, William Pinkethman as Sir Kit Sly, Elizabeth Willis as Joan and

Mary Willis Mary Willis was a British stage actress of the eighteenth century. She was the daughter of the actress Elizabeth Willis and sometimes appeared alongside her billed as Miss Willis. Like her mother she spent a number of years in the company at th ...

as Betty.Van Lennep p.387-88

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. ''History of English Drama, 1660-1900, Volume 2''. Cambridge University Press, 2009. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume Two, 1700-1729''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1716 plays West End plays Plays by Christopher Bullock Plays by Charles Johnson Comedy plays {{1710s-play-stub