''The School for Rakes'' is a 1769

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 Elizabeth Griffith.Watson p.1503 It was inspired by the 1767 French play '' Eugénie'' by

Pierre Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

. The original Drury Lane cast included

Samuel Reddish Samuel Reddish (1735–1785) was a theatre manager and an actor in England. He made a reputation with Mossop's company in Smock Alley, Dublin in the seasons of 1761-2 and appeared at Drury Lane, London, 1767, where he remained during ten season ...

as Frampton, Samuel Cautherley as Lord Eustace, Charles Holland as Sir William Evans,

James William Dodd James William Dodd (1740?–1796) was an English actor, one of David Garrick's picked company. Early life Born in London about 1740, he is said to have been the son of a hairdresser. He was educated at the grammar school in Holborn. A success ...

as Willis, Thomas King as Captain Lloyd,

John Palmer John Palmer may refer to: People Politicians * John Palmer (fl. 1377–1394), English politician * Sir John Palmer, 5th Baronet (1735–1817), British politician * John Palmer (1785–1840), U.S. congressman from New York * John Palmer (1842–19 ...

as Colonel Evans, Robert Baddeley as Robert,

Kitty Clive Catherine Clive (née Raftor; 5 November 1711 – 6 December 1785) Catherine ‘Kitty’ Clive (1711-1785, active 1728-1769) was a first songster and star comedienne of British playhouse entertainment. Clive led and created new forms of English ...

as Mrs Winifred and

Sophia Baddeley Sophia Baddeley born Sophia Snow (1745 – July 1786) was an English actress, singer and courtesan. Early life, musical career She was born in London, the daughter of Mary and Valentine Snow, who was the sergeant-trumpeter to George II. ...

as Harriet.

References

Bibliography

* Baines, Paul & Ferarro, Julian & Rogers, Pat. ''The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Eighteenth-Century Writers and Writing, 1660-1789''. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. * Watson, George. ''The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: Volume 2, 1660-1800''. Cambridge University Press, 1971. 1769 plays Comedy plays West End plays Plays by Elizabeth Griffith {{1760s-play-stub