Colley Cibber as Lord Foppington in The Relapse by John Vanbrugh1

''Love's Last Shift, or The Fool in Fashion'' is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Restoration comedy by

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

from 1696. The play is regarded as an early herald of a shift in audience tastes away from the

intellectualism Intellectualism is the mental perspective that emphasizes the use, the development, and the exercise of the intellect; and also identifies the life of the mind of the intellectual person. (Definition) In the field of philosophy, the term ''inte ...

and sexual frankness of Restoration comedy and towards the conservative certainties and

gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cen ...

backlash of

sentimental comedy Sentimental comedy is an 18th-century dramatic genre which sprang up as a reaction to the immoral tone of English Restoration plays. In sentimental comedies, middle-class protagonists triumphantly overcome a series of moral trials. These plays aimed ...

. It is often described as "opportunistic" (Hume), containing as it does something for everybody: daring Restoration comedy sex scenes, sentimental reconciliations, and broad

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 ...

Character list

Men:Cibber, Colley. Love's last shift: or, the fool in fashion. A comedy, as it is acted at the Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane, by Their Majesties servants. Written by C. Cibber. London, 1735. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. 27 Sept. 2009 . * Sir William Wisewoud, a rich old gentleman who fancies himself a great master of his passion, which he only is in trivial matters * Loveless, of a debauched life, grew weary of his wife in six months; left her, and the Town, for debts he did not care to pay; and having spent the last part of his estate beyond sea, returns to England in a very mean state. * Sir Novelty Fashion, a coxcomb that loves to be the first in all foppery * Elder Worthy, a sober gentleman of a fair estate in love with Hillaria * Young Worthy, his brother, of a looser temper, lover to Narcissa * Snap, servant to Loveless * Sly, servant to Young Worthy * A lawyer Women: * Amanda, a woman of strict virtue, married to Loveless very young and forsaken by him * Narcissa, daughter to Sir William Wisewoud, a fortune * Hillaria, his niece * Flareit, a kept mistress of Sir Novelty's * Woman to Amanda * Maid to Flareit

played Sir Novelty Fashion in the original 1688 production.

Synopsis

''Love's Last Shift'' is the story of a last "shift" or trick that a virtuous wife, Amanda, is driven to, in order to reform and retain her out-of-control rakish husband Loveless. Loveless has been away for ten years, dividing his time between the brothel and the bottle, and no longer recognizes his wife when he returns to London. Acting the part of a high-class prostitute, Amanda invites Loveless into her luxurious house and treats him to the night of his dreams, confessing her true identity in the morning. Loveless is so impressed by her faithfulness that he immediately becomes a reformed character. A minor part which was a great success with the première audience is the fop Sir Novelty Fashion, written by Cibber for himself to play. Sir Novelty flirts with all the women, but is more interested in his own exquisite appearance and witticisms, and, writes Cibber modestly in his autobiography 45 years later, "was thought a good portrait of the foppery then in fashion". The play was a great box office hit at the première run but has not stood the test of time. Theatre historians today remember it, if at all, because of

John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restora ...

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

'' The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger'', still a stage favourite, where the husband returns to

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marr ...

References

*Cibber, Colley (first published 1740, ed. Robert Lowe, 1889). ''An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'', vol.1, vol 2. London. *Hume, Robert D. (1976). ''The Development of English Drama in the Late Seventeenth Century''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. *Parnell, Paul (1963). "The sentimental mask". ''PMLA'', 57, 519—34. *Cibber, Colley. Love's last shift: or, the fool in fashion. A comedy, as it is acted at the Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane, by Their Majesties servants. Written by C. Cibber. London, 1735. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. 27 Sept. 2009 . {{Restoration comedy Restoration comedy Plays by Colley Cibber 1696 plays