Event Comment: At the particular Desire of several Persons of Distinction. Benefit Dance. Boxes 3s., Pit and First Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. The Late Wells in Goodman's Fields. Tickets to be had at Mr. Dance's Lodgings, at Mr Boteler's in Fenchurch St.; and at Mr Goodfellow's at Mrs Simpson's, in Church Lane, near the Wells. Particular care will be taken to keep the House warm

Event Comment: Benefit Dance and Nicholson. Tom's Coffee House, Cornhill, Wednesday four o'Clock. Mr Bayes: By the unanimous Desire of a number of your Friends here assenbled, who intend to sit in judgment upon you on Friday, I take upon me to advise you in some Particulars, as to your present Undertaking. Let not any Success you might meet with at one End of the Town where the Audience must be composed of a different Class of People from what you may expect at Covent Garden, tempt you to think of mimicking an Actress whom the Town doats upon; and particularly avoid Puffing; a Scheme long ago worn threadbare, but lately quite demolish'd by an enterprizing Genius. Not even an Epilogue from the Gods would be of any Service now; and therefore if you have anything that's new, any fiery Flights of Fancy, and all that, let them lie dormant till the Time of Action, and then endeavour to elevate and surprize. Value these Hints.--Daily Advertiser

Event Comment: Benefit for Fishar (ballet master) and Sga Manesiere. Charges #64 10s. Balance to the two dancers #19 7s. (#9 13s. 6d. apiece) plus Fishar #47 2s. from tickets (Box 54; Pit 130; Gallery 141); Sga Manesiere #26 19s. (Box 48; Pit 53; Gallery 70) (Account Book). Receipts: #83 17s

Event Comment: [Dance possibly salvaged from the Chinese Festival.] Receipts: #170 (Cross)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Arne. Afterpiece: By Desire. House Charges #68 16s. 6d. [Profits to Mrs Arne #150 18s. 6d.] Tickets deliver'd for The Beggar's Opera will be admitted. Dido oblig'd to be defer'd a few days. Paid 1 year's Watch for St Martin's #10 2s.; Reynolds Oil bill #46 4s.; Carpue (silk dyer) #7 9s. 6d.; Jennings (glover) #13 12s.; Vernon on note #21; Chorus 1 night #2 5s. 6d.; Hautboy 5s.; Salary list #294 2s. 8d. [Treasurer's Book). Receipts: #219 14s. (Treasurer's Book). At 4 dined at the Chop House in St Clements. At 5 went to Drury Lane to see the Tempest for the benefit of Mrs Arne the prettiest performer at the house...She has a sweet little voice...A grand Dance of Fantastic Spirits in different shapes. At the end of the play a Double Hornpipe by Mr Walker and Miss Tatley. We had the entertainment of Daphne and Amintor with dancing by Sg and Sga George, Sg Tessoni, Miss King, &c. Having a seat in the third row of the Pit, was much pleased as all the principal characters were well played and the scenery is very fine. Had I been later in going, I should not have got in (Neville MS Diary)

Event Comment: A New Serious Opera. The Music by several eminent composers under the direction of Giordani. Dances under the direction of Lany. New Scenes by Colomba, with magnificent Dresses and Decorations for the Opera and Dances. Tickets Pit and Boxes put together at Half a Guinea. Gallery 5s. Second Gallery 3s. By Command of their Majesties no person whatsoever to be admitted behind the scenes or into the Orchestra. Doors to be opened at 6, to begin at 7:00 p.m. Vivant Rex et Regina. In order to prevent inconveniencies to the ladies in getting to and from their carriages, they are requested to order their coachmen to set down with their horses heads towards Pall Mall, and to take up with their heads towards Picadilly. The door in Market Lane and the King's door for Chairs only

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Altered into Three Acts. "All the comic part of the play is cut out" (Monthly Mirror, Dec. 1795, p. 123). Afterpiece [1st time; P 2, by William Pearce]: The Incidents principally selected from the legendary Ballads of the 13th Century. The Scenery, Machinery, Music, Dresses and Decorations entirely new, and in correct conformity to the Times. The Pantomime invented by Mr Lonsdale. The Songs written by Mr O'Keeffe. The Overture and the Music (with the exception of a few Antient Ballad Tunes) by Reeve. The Dances invented by Byrn. [The concluding Grand Scene regulated by Thomas Harris (Monthly Mirror, supra).] The Scenery painted by Hodgins, Lupino, Phillips, Thorne, Hollogan, Blackmore, and assistants. The Machinery by Sloper and Goosetree. The Dresses by Dick and Mrs Egan. Books of the Songs to be had at the Theatre. [For a further assignment of the Vocal Characters and for a more detailed synopsis, see 4 Jan. 1796.] Account-Book, 16 Jan. 1796: Paid Goosetree for the Keep and Hire of Horses for the Pantomime #15 13s. Receipts: #321 19s. (318.10; 3.9)

Event Comment: This work is advertised in The Loyal Protestant 22, 27, and 29 Aug. 1682: at Mrs Saffry's, a Dutch Woman's booth, over against the Greyhound Inne in West Smithfield. [Her first announcement calls the company "By an Approved Company"; the other two notices refer to it as "the first New-market Company." See Rosenfeld, The Theatre of the London Fairs, p. 6.] John Coysh paid #6 for a booth at the Fair (Rosenfeld, The Theatre of the London Fairs, p. 6). See also Morley, Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair, p. 222, for notice of the Indian Water Worksv. In Wit and Drollery (1682), p. 304, are verses on the Fair: @Here's the Whore of Babylon the Devil and the Pope,@The Girl is just agoing on the Rope@Here's Dives and Lazarus and the World's Creation,@Here's the Tall Dutch Woman the like's not in the Nation,@Here is the Booth where the High-Dutch Made is@Hear are the Bears that dance like any Ladies,@Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat says the little penny Trumpet@Here's Jacob Hall, that does so jump it, jump it.@Sound Trumpet Sound, for Silver Spoon and Fork,@Come here's your dainty Pit and Pork.@ [See also August 1680.

Event Comment: Mainpiece: With proper Scenes, Machines, Decorations, Songs, and Dances

Event Comment: New dance damn'd. Aged 4y 2m My dear Fann dy'd poor Girl (Cross). [The extra chorus singers in Chaplet this season received 5s. per night each. Three seem customarily to have been used. Payments during the run to Mr Norton (in charge of music) "3 Chorus 15s." (Treasurer's Book).] Paid salary List #305 5s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book). Receipts: #120 (Cross); #112 4s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: By Desire. Afterpiece: A New Musical Entertainment in 2 acts, words imitated from Rousseau, with his original Musick (Burney). Books of the entertainment at the Theatre, published for 1s. Paid Mr Chitty his coal bill #91 13s. and Mr Johnston's bill for guilt leather #24 19s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book). [Advertisement to 2nd Edition, 1766: Upon rehearsing the music it has been thought necessary to retrench the Second Act for fear of satiety: for though the Airs and Dances after the reconciliation of Celia and Phoebe are by no means inferior to the rest in point of composition; yet as no other business remained to be done after that circumstance but that of mere festivity, the Editor, with some reluctance, submitted to the omission of such airs as are printed with inverted commas; which, however, are all publish'd with the music by Mr Bremner in the Strand."] Receipts: #150 13s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: A New Serious Opera [1st time; SER 3, ascribed to Giovanni Gualberto Bottarelli]. The Music entirely new, composed by Sacchini. 2nd dance: The Music entirely new, composed by Charles Stamitz

Event Comment: Benefit for Didelot. Tickets to be had of Didelot, No. 9, Haymarket. Both dances composed by Didelot; the music by Bossi. With new Scenery, Machinery and Decorations [by Liparotti]. [Synopsis of action of 1st ballet in Cyril W. Beaumont, Complete Book of Ballets, 1941, pp. 19-21, where it is stated that "Flore et Zephire is noted for being the first ballet in which wires were used to enable the dancers to simulate aerial flight." This is not stricdly accurate; see note under L'Amour Vange, 2 June.

Event Comment: Written by the late Mr Congreve. Receipts: #17 9s. 6d. [Rich had rented LIF to the King of France's Company of Italian Rope-Dancers, which opened this evening. For a caustic comment, see Grub St. Journal, 18 Dec]