''The Stage Coach'' is a 1704 play by

George Farquhar George Farquhar (1677The explanation for the dual birth year appears in Louis A. Strauss, ed., A Discourse Upon Comedy, The Recruiting Officer, and The Beaux’ Stratagem by George Farquhar' (Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1914), p. v. Strauss notes ...

and

Peter Motteux Peter Anthony Motteux (born Pierre Antoine Motteux ; 25 February 1663 – 18 February 1718) was a French-born English author, playwright, and translator. Motteux was a significant figure in the evolution of English journalism in his era, as the ...

. A

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

, it is based on the 1680 French play '' Les Carrosses d'Orléans'' by

Jean de La Chapelle Jean de La Chapelle (24 October 1651 – 29 May 1723) was a French writer and dramatist. He was born at Bourges, France, was elected to the Académie française in 1688, and died in Paris. Biography Born into minor nobility, nephew of Nicolas ...

.Richetti p.79 It was staged at the

Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre Lisle's Tennis Court was a building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, ...

in London as an afterpiece to a revival of John Crowne's ''

The Country Wit ''The Country Wit'' is a 1676 comedy play by the English writer John Crowne, part of the tradition of Restoration Comedy. It was first staged at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London by the Duke's Company. The cast included Samuel Sandford as Sir ...

''. The cast included

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 Nicodemus Somebody, Barton Booth as Captain Basil, George Pack as Fetch, John Freeman as Micher and

Abigail Hunt Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later mar ...

as Dolly.

References

Bibliography

* Richetti, John. ''The Cambridge History of English Literature, 1660-1780''. Cambridge University Press, 2005. 1704 plays Plays by George Farquhar West End plays Restoration comedy {{play-stub