''The Counterfeit Bridegroom; Or, The Defeated Widow'' is a 1677

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 ...

. The work's authorship is usually credited to

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

has been alternatively been attributed to

Thomas Betterton Thomas Patrick Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Apprentice and actor Betterton was born in August 16 ...

. It was inspired by

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

's Jacobean play ''

No Wit, No Help Like a Woman's ''No Wit, No Help Like a Woman's'' is a Jacobean tragicomic play by Thomas Middleton. Title On the title page of the first published edition (1653), the play's title is rendered as follows: No \begin Wit \\ Help \end Like~a~Woman's This ...

''. It was originally performed by the

Duke's Company The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During hats period, theatres b ...

at the

Dorset Garden Theatre The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Du ...

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 ...

. The cast included Anthony Leigh as Sir Oliver Santloe, John Bowman as Peter Santloe,

Thomas Gillow Thomas Gillow (died 1687) was an English stage actor of the Restoration era. His name was sometimes written Gilloe or Gillo. His first known role was at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in Samuel Pordage's ''Herod and Mariamne'' in 1671. He re ...

as Sanders, John Crosby as Noble, Joseph Williams as Hadland,

Thomas Percival Thomas Percival (29 September 1740 – 30 August 1804) was an English physician, health reformer, ethicist and author who wrote an early code of medical ethics. He drew up a pamphlet with the code in 1794 and wrote an expanded version in 18 ...

as Sir Gregory Lovemuch, Henry Norris as Gazer, John Richards as Sam,

Anne Shadwell Anne Shadwell was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. She was one of the first English actresses to appear on stage following the Restoration She was one of six actors recruited in 1660 by William Davenant for the new Duke's Compa ...

as Clarina, Margaret Osborne as Widow Laudwell and

Elizabeth Currer Elizabeth Currer was an Irish stage actress of the Restoration Era. She was a member of the Duke's Company during the 1670s and subsequently part of the merged United Company from 1682. Although she was likely acting in London several years earl ...

as Mrs Hadland.Van Lennep p.263

References

Bibliography

* Canfield, J. Douglas. ''Tricksters and Estates: On the Ideology of Restoration Comedy''. University Press of Kentucky, 2014. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''History of English Drama, 1660-1900: Volume 1, Restoration Drama, 1660-1700''. Cambridge University Press, 1952. * Roberts, David. ''Thomas Betterton: The Greatest Actor of the Restoration Stage''. Cambridge University Press, 2010. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1677 plays West End plays Restoration comedy Plays by Aphra Behn {{17thC-play-stub