''The Loyal Brother; Or, The Persian Prince'' is a 1682

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 Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was first performed 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

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 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 Dr ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

was written by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

. It was Southerne's first play and was written in the context of the recent

Exclusion Crisis The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Sc ...

and the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

from a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

viewpoint. Two characters are thinly disguised versions of contemporary figures, the heroic Tachmas is

James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

and the villain is the Whig politician the Earl of Shaftesbury. It was staged at a time when the growing Tory Reaction had swung power away from the Whigs trying to exclude the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

York from the throne. The original Drury Lane cast included

Cardell Goodman Cardell Goodman (also Cardonell) (1649?–1699) was an English actor and adventurer, now known as a Jacobitism, Jacobite conspirator. Early life He was son of a clergyman of the same name at one time in Shaftesbury, Dorset, and on 18 March 1651 ...

as Seliman, Thomas Clark as Tachmas, Michael Mohun as Ismael,

Philip Griffin Philip Griffin was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century and early eighteenth century. He joined the King's Company at Drury Lane during the 1670s, and was later a member of the merged United Company from 1685. He was named as a manage ...

as Arbanes, Richard Saunders as Osman,

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 Begona,

Sarah Cooke Sarah Cooke (died 1688) 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. She played a number of lead roles during the 1680s. Her aunt was the governess to th ...

as Semanthe and Anne Marshall as Sunamire.Van Lennep p.305-306 The published play was dedicated to the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor dynasty, Tudor and House of Stuart, Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was ...

, Master of the Horse and illegitimate son of Charles II.

References

Bibliography

* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660-1900. Volume I''. Cambridge University Press, 2009. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1682 plays English plays West End plays Tragedy plays Plays by Thomas Southerne {{17thC-play-stub