''The Venetian Outlaw'' is an 1805 play by the British writer and actor

Robert William Elliston Robert William Elliston (7 April 1774 – 7 July 1831) was an English actor and theatre manager. Life He was born in London, the son of a watchmaker. He was educated at St Paul's School, but ran away from home and made his first appearance on ...

. It premiered 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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 26 April 1805. The cast included

James Grant Raymond James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

as The Doge, William Barrymore as Count Orsono,

as Vivaldi,

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

as Alfieri,

William Dowton William Dowton (1764–1851) was a British actor. Early life Dowton, the son of an innkeeper and grocer at Exeter, was born in that city on 25 April 1764. At an early age he worked with a marble cutter, but in 1780 was articled to an archite ...

as Calcagno, George Bartley as Carnevaro, George Cooke as Spalatro and

Nannette Johnston Nannette Johnston (born 1782) was a British stage actress and dancer active during the Regency era. She was born in London as the daughter the actor William Parker, but educated in Edinburgh where her father was working and began her career as a d ...

as Rosara. The published play was dedicated by Elliston to

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. It was based on an 1801 French play ''L'Homme à Trois Visages'' by

René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt René-Charles Guilbert de PixerécourtOften written as Pixérécourt, although the self-edited ''Théâtre choisi'' omits the first accent. The X was pronounced S. (22 January 1773 – 27 July 1844) was a French theatre director and playwright ...

, which also inspired ''

Rugantino ''Rugantino'' is a musical comedy by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini, which debuted at the Teatro Sistina in Rome, Italy, on 15 December 1962. Music was written by Armando Trovaioli. It is a comedy set in the papal Rome of the 19th century. ...

'' by Matthew Lewis.Nicoll p.81-82

References

Bibliography

* Greene, John C. ''Theatre in Dublin, 1745-1820: A Calendar of Performances, Volume 6''. Lexington Books, 2011. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Nineteenth Century Drama 1800-1850''. Cambridge University Press, 1930. 1805 plays West End plays British plays Plays set in Italy {{19thC-play-stub