''The Persian Princess'' is a 1708

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 British writer

Lewis Theobald Lewis Theobald (baptised 2 April 1688 – 18 September 1744), English textual editor and author, was a landmark figure both in the history of Shakespearean editing and in literary satire. He was vital for the establishment of fair texts for Shak ...

. It was performed 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 ...

. It is also written as ''The Persian Princess: or, The Royal Villain''. The play was not a great success and Theobald himself wrote disparagingly of it, although its acceptance to be staged at a major theatre suggests that it was seen as having merit. Along with his later work ''

The Perfidious Brother ''The Perfidious Brother'' is a 1716 tragedy by the British writer Lewis Theobald. A dispute rose of the authorship of the play when a watchmaker and aspiring playwright Henry Meystayer claimed that Theobald had stolen it from him.Carnegie & Tayl ...

'', it has been examined for textual clues in light of the authorship of ''

Double Falsehood ''Double Falsehood'' (archaic spelling: ''Double Falshood'') or ''The Distrest Lovers'' is a 1727 play by the English writer and playwright Lewis Theobald, although the authorship has been contested ever since the play was first published, with ...

'' a play that Theobald claimed to be based on a lost

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

work.Carnegie & Taylor p.136 The original Drury Lane cast included

Theophilus Keene Theophilus Keene (1680-1718) was an Anglo-Irish stage actor and theatre manager. Keene was from a Presbyterian background. He originally began acting at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. Having arrived in London from Ireland in 1704, he appear ...

as Memnon,

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 Artaban,

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 Oxartes,

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 Mirvan, John Corey as Barzanes and Thomas Smith as High Priest.

References

Bibliography

* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992. * Carnegie, Davis & Taylor, Gary. ''The Quest for Cardenio: Shakespeare, Fletcher, Cervantes, and the Lost Play''. OUP Oxford, 2012. * Jones, Richard Foster. ''Lewis Theobald: His Contribution to English Scholarship, with Some Unpublished Letters''. AMS Press, 1966. 1708 plays Plays by Lewis Theobald West End plays Tragedy plays {{play-stub