''The Sailor's Daughter'' 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 the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

writer

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 ...

which first premiered on 7 April 1804 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 ...

Plot

After a young woman, Julia, is orphaned following the Battle of Copenhagen she enjoys a series of adventures until settling down with her long-lost guardian Captain Sentamore.Ennis p.105 The play is set in Bath.

Reception

The first performance received a mixed reception with the house "divided in opinion". A review in ''Lloyd's Evening Post'' described it as: "marked with several traits of a muse whose labours have contributed in this department to the improvement of the English drama, but is, upon the whole, far inferior to the pieces from which the author has acquired his deserved celebrity."

Actors

The original Drury Lane cast included: * Mr Wroughton (

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 Sir Mathew Moribund * Mr Dwyer as Mandeville * Mr Pope (

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

) as Captain Sentamour * Mr Russell as Varnish * Mr Caulfield ( Thomas Caulfield) as Singleton * Mr Bannister, jun. ( John Bannister) as Hartshorn, an apothecary * Mr Bartley ( George Bartley) as Lindsay * Mr Dowton ( William Dowton) as Raven, Sir Mathew's servant * Mr Evans as Shopman to Hartshorn * Mr Rhodes as Servant to Varnish * Mr Webb as Servant to Sir Mathew * Mrs Jordan (

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 Louisa Davenant * Mrs H. Johnston as Julia Clareville * Mrs Sparks (

Sarah Sparks Sarah Sparks (1754–1837) was a British stage actor. She was born Sarah Mills into a theatrical family, although no evidence exists linking her to the earlier actors John Mills or his son William Mills. Her first known performance was in Berwick ...

) as Mrs Hartshorn * Mrs Maddocks as Nurse

References

Bibliography

* Ennis, Daniel James. ''Enter the Press Gang: Naval Impressment in Eighteenth-Century British Literature''. Associated University Presses, 2002. Plays by Richard Cumberland 1804 plays West End plays British plays {{1800s-play-stub