"The Old Bachelor" at Covent Garden in 1756 featuring

Mrs Elmy Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme-Elmy (died 12 March 1918) was a life-long campaigner and organiser, significant in the history of women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She wrote essays and some poetry, using the pseudonyms E and Ignota. Early ...

... ''The Old Bachelor'' is the first play written by United Kingdom, British playwright William Congreve, produced in 1693 in literature, 1693. Henry Purcell set it to music. Originally staged by the

United Company The United Company was a London theatre company formed in 1682 with the merger of the King's Company and the Duke's Company. Both the Duke's and King's Companies suffered poor attendance during the turmoil of the Popish Plot period, 1678&ndas ...

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 ...

the cast included

Thomas Betterton Thomas Patrick Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Apprentice and actor Betterton was born in August 16 ...

as Heartwell, George Powell as Bellmour, Joseph Williams as Vainlove, William Bowen as Sir Joseph,

Joseph Haines Joseph Haines (died 4 April 1701), also known as Jo Haines, was a 17th-century actor, singer, dancer, guitar player, fortune teller, and author. ''The Life of the Late Famous Comedian, Jo. Hayns'', possibly written by fellow player Tobias Thoma ...

as Bluff,

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 Fondlewife,

Cave Underhill Cave Underhill (1634–1710?) was an English actor in comedy roles. Underhill entertained three generations of London theatre-goers. For over 40 years, as a member of the Duke's Company, Underhill played the first Gravedigger in ''Hamlet''. He w ...

as Servant,

Anne Bracegirdle Anne Bracegirdle (possibly 167112 September 1748) was an English actress. Biography Bracegirdle was born to Justinian and Martha (born Furniss) Bracegirdle in Northamptonshire. She was baptised in Northampton on 15 November 1671, although her to ...

as Araminta, Susanna Mountfort as Belinda,

Elizabeth Barry Elizabeth Barry (1658 – 7 November 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period. Elizabeth Barry's biggest influence on Restoration drama was her presentation of performing as the tragic actress. She worked in large, prestigious L ...

as Laetitia,

Elizabeth Bowman Elizabeth Bowman (c. 1677 – 1707) was an English stage actor of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century.Caines p.149 The daughter of Sir Francis Watson, 1st Baronet she was adopted by the actor manager Thomas Betterton. In 1692 she married ...

as Sylvia,

Elinor Leigh Elinor Leigh was a British stage actor of the seventeenth century. Born Elinor Dixon, she was billed as Mrs Leigh or Mrs Lee after she married the actor Anthony Leigh in 1671. This has led to some difficulty distinguishing on playbills between h ...

as Lucy.

Plot

The 'Old Bachelor' is Heartwell, 'a surly old bachelor, pretending to slight women', who falls in love with Silvia, not knowing her to be the forsaken mistress of Vainlove, and is lured into marrying her, only discovering her true character afterwards, from the gibes of his acquaintances. The

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...

who has been brought in to marry them, however, is in fact Vainlove's friend Bellmour, who has assumed the disguise for the purpose of an intrigue with Laetitia, the young wife of an uxorious old banker, Fondlewife; and Heartwell is relieved to discover that the marriage was a pretence. The comedy includes the amusing characters of Sir Joseph Wittol, a foolish knight, who allows himself to be really married to Silvia, under the impression that she is the wealthy Araminta; and his companion, the cowardly bully, Captain Bluffe, who under the same delusion is married to Silvia's maid. The success of this comedy was in part due to the acting of performers

and

.D. Mackenzie (ed.), ''The Works of William Congreve: Volume I'', OUP Oxford (2011), v. 1.

Characters

*Heartwell - an old bachelor secretly in love with Silvia *Bellmour - in love with Belinda *Vainlove - in love with Araminta *Sharper *Sir Joseph Wittol *Captain Bluffe *Fondlewife - a banker *Setter - a pimp *Araminta - in love with Vainlove *Belinda - her cousin, in love with Bellmour *Lætita - wife of Fondlewife *Silvia - Vainlove’s forsaken mistress *Lucy - her maid *Betty

Notes

References

* Macaulay, Thomas Babington. ''The Comic Dramatists of the Restoration.'' London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1853. *Rump, E. S., (ed.) ''The Comedies of William Congreve'', Penguin Classics (1986). *Erskine-Hill, H., Lindsay, A. (eds), ''William Congreve: The Critical Heritage'', Routledge (1995). *Henderson, A. G., ''The Comedies of William Congreve'', Cambridge University Press (1982). *McKenzie, D., ''The Works of William Congreve: Volume I'', OUP Oxford (2011), v. 1.

External links

*. * *
Congreve's BiographyThe Library of William Congreve at the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Bachelor, The 1693 plays Restoration comedy Plays by William Congreve Plays set in the 17th century West End plays

Plot

Characters

See also

Notes

References

External links