''The Country Lasses: or, The Custom of the Manor'' is a 1715

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 British writer Charles Johnson. The original

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

cast included

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 the ...

as Modely,

Barton Booth Barton Booth (168210 May 1733) was one of the most famous dramatic actors of the first part of the 18th century. Early life Booth was the son of The Hon and Very Revd Dr Robert Booth (priest), Robert Booth, Dean of Bristol, by his first wife ...

as Heartwell,

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

as Freehold, Benjamin Johnson as Sir John English, Joe Miller as Sneak, Richard Cross as Carbuncle, Henry Norris as Tim Shacklefigure,

James Quin James Quin (24 February 1693 – 21 January 1766) was an English actor of Irish descent. Life Quin was born in King Street, Covent Garden, London, an illegitimate son of James Quin, an Irish-born barrister, and his partner (whom he apparently n ...

as Vulture, Susanna Mountfort as Flora,

Hester Santlow Hester Santlow (married name Hester Booth; c. 1690 – 1773) was a noted British dancer and actress, who has been called "England's first ballerina". She was influential in many spheres of theatrical life. Life Hester Santlow was born circa 16 ...

as Aura. The play was dedicated to Thomas Pelham, Earl of Clare, a Whig politician and

patron of the arts Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

. It was a popular success and remained in the

repertoire A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform. Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a l ...

for the next century.Orr p.207

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. * Orr, Bridget. ''British Enlightenment Theatre: Dramatizing Difference''. Cambridge University Press, 2020. 1715 plays West End plays Plays by Charles Johnson Comedy plays {{18thC-play-stub