''The Impostors'' is a
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
Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to:
* Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher
* Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist
* Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...
. It was first performed at the
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 ...
in January 1789.
[Nicoll p.127] The plot closely resembled that of ''
The Beaux' Stratagem
''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on March 8, 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have fal ...
'' by
George Farquhar.
The original Drury Lane Cast included
John Palmer John Palmer may refer to:
People
Politicians
* John Palmer (fl. 1377–1394), English politician
* Sir John Palmer, 5th Baronet (1735–1817), British politician
* John Palmer (1785–1840), U.S. congressman from New York
* John Palmer (1842–19 ...
as Lord Janus,
Robert Baddeley as Sir Solomon Sapient,
Francis Aickin
Francis Aickin (died 1805), was an Irish actor, who worked at the Edinburgh Theatre in Scotland, and the between 1765 and 1792 in theatres in the West End of London.
Francis Aickin first appeared in London in 1765 as Dick Amlet in John Vanbru ...
as Captain George Sapient,
William Barrymore as Sir Charles Freemantle,
Richard Suett
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
as Oliver and
Richard Wroughton
Richard Wroughton (1748–1822), was an actor, who worked mainly in Covent Garden (now the Royal Opera house) and Drury Lane (now the Theatre Royal), and occasional in the city of his birth, Bath.
Acting at Covent Garden
He was born in 1748, ...
as Polycarp,
Jane Pope
Jane Pope (1744 – 30 July 1818) was an English actress.
Life
Pope was the daughter William and Susanna Pope. Her father was a London theatrical wig-maker for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. (There has been confusion over her date of birth with ...
as Mrs Dorothy and
Dorothea Jordan
Dorothea Jordan, née Bland (21 November 17615 July 1816), was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time mistress of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and the mother of ten illegitimate children by ...
as Eleanor.
References
Bibliography
* Hogan, C.B (ed.) ''The London Stage, 1660–1800: Volume V''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968.
* Mudford, William. ''The Life of Richard Cumberland''. Sherwood, Neely & Jones, 1812.
* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660-1900. Volume III: Late Eighteenth Century Drama''. Cambridge University Press, 1952.
Plays by Richard Cumberland
1789 plays
West End plays
Comedy plays
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