''Troilus And Cressida; Or, Truth Found Too Late'' is a 1679

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

by the English writer

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

. It was first staged 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 ...

. It was a reworking of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's 1602 play ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Meanwh ...

'', set during the

Trojan Wars In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

. In acknowledgement of this Dryden has the

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

spoken by Shakespeare's ghost, defending the alterations made to the play. The original cast included

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 ...

as Troilus, William Smith as Hector,

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 Priam, Joseph Williams as Aeneas, Anthony Leigh as Pandarus,

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 Agamemnon, Henry Harris as Ulysses, George Bright as Ajax, Henry Norris as Nestor, John Crosby as Diomedes, John Bowman as Patroclus, John Richards as Anthenor, Cave Underhill as Thersites, Mary Lee as Cressida and

Mary Betterton Mary Saunderson (1637–1712), later known as Mary Saunderson Betterton after her marriage to Thomas Betterton, was an actress and singer in England during the 1660s and 1690s. She is considered one of the first English actresses. Stage career ...

as Andromache.Van Lennep p.276 The published version of the play was dedicated to the politician Lord Sunderland.

References

Bibliography

* Frank, Marcie. ''Gender, Theatre, and the Origins of Criticism: From Dryden to Manley''. Cambridge University Press, 2002. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960.

External links

''Troilus and Cressida''
at the Internet Archive 1679 plays West End plays Tragedy plays Plays by John Dryden Plays and musicals based on works by William Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida Plays based on works by Geoffrey Chaucer Plays based on works by Giovanni Boccaccio Plays based on works by Homer Works based on the Iliad {{17thC-play-stub