''The Man's Bewitched'' is a 1709

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

Susanna Centlivre Susanna Centlivre (c. 1669 (baptised) – 1 December 1723), born Susanna Freeman and also known professionally as Susanna Carroll, was an English poet, actress, and "the most successful female playwright of the eighteenth century". Centlivre's " ...

. It is known by the longer title ''The Man's Bewitch'd; or, The Devil to do about Her''. The original Haymarket cast included John Bowman as Sir Jeffrey Constant,

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 Captain Constant,

Benjamin Husband Benjamin Husband was a British stage actor of the eighteenth century. His surname is sometimes written as Husbands. Reportedly born in Pembrokeshire in 1672, he was a member of the Lincolns Inn Fields and Drury Lane companies during the 1700s ...

as Lovely,

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 ...

as Faithful, Benjamin Johnson as Sir David Watchman,

Richard Estcourt Richard Estcourt (1668–1712) was an English actor, who began by playing comedy parts in Dublin. His first London appearance was in 1704 as Dominick, in Dryden's ''Spanish Friar'', and he continued to take important parts at Drury Lane, being t ...

as Trust,

Thomas Doggett Thomas Doggett (or Dogget) (20 September 1721) was an Irish actor. The birth date of 1640 seems unlikely. A more probable date of 1670 is given in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Biography Doggett was born in Dublin, and made his first stage app ...

as Num, Richard Cross as Slouch,

William Pinkethman William Pinkethman(also Penkethman, Pinkeman, Pinkerman, etc.; nicknamed Pinkey) (c.1660–1725) was an English comic actor, a low comedian with a droll style, and theatre manager. He was considered an imitator of Anthony Leigh. Starting in th ...

as Clinch, William Bullock as Roger,

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

as Manage,

Anne Oldfield Anne Oldfield (168323 October 1730) was an English actress and one of the highest paid actresses of her time. Early life and discovery She was born in London in 1683. Her father was a soldier, James Oldfield. Her mother was either Anne or Eliz ...

as Belinda, Mary Porter as Maria,

Margaret Saunders Margaret Saunders or Mrs Saunders (born 1686 - c. 1748) was a British actress. Life Saunders was born in Weymouth and attended a boarding school in Wiltshire before being apprenticed by a milliner. At the age of sixteen she began her acting c ...

as Dorothy and

Margaret Bicknell Margaret Bicknell (1695?–1723) was a Scottish theatre actress and dancer. Early life and education She was sister of Elizabeth Younger, an actress, who survived her some years. Younger informed Mrs. Saunders, a well-known actress who had f ...

as Lucy.

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. 1709 plays West End plays Comedy plays Plays by Susanna Centlivre {{play-stub