Event Comment: Whereas Doctor John Francis Croza, late Master of the Company of Comedians at the Opera House in the Haymarket, escaped fro me on Tuesday Evening last: whoever will secure or cause him to be secured, so that I may re-take him, shall have a reward of thirty pounds immediately, paid by me Henry Gibbs, one of the Tipstaffs attending the court of Common Pleas, Southampton St., Covent Garden, Tea Merchant. N.B. The said John Francis Croza is a thin man, about Five feet five inches high, of a swarthy Complexion, with dark brown eyebrows, pitted with the small pox, stoops a little in the Shoulders, is about 50 Years of age, and takes a remarkable deal of Snuff, talks Italian and French, but speaks very little English (General Advertiser)

Event Comment: Benefit for Woodward. Afterpiece: A New farce written by Mr Woodward-for his Benefit, The farce was a kind of dispute among ye Actors, & went off, as it was a Benefit, without Interruption, but I believe will not be play'd agen, ye Epil: was a parody upon Shakespear's Stage of Life, & was Lik'd (Cross). No Part of Pit will be rail'd into the Boxes. Ladies send servants by three. Tickets to be had of Woodward at Clarendon's Warehouse, and of Hobson at the stage door. Last time of performing the mainpiece this season. [Larpent MS 92, indicates the afterpiece as a criticism from the actors' view of the way they are handled by audiences, and of their own damnation of a play presented to them. All works up to the Epilogue: @'All the town's a farce-he says and swears,@And all the men and women merely players...'@ which is severe upon politicians, doctors, statesmen and connoisseurs. The characters appear under their own names, Cross, Clive, etc.] Receipts: #300 (Cross)

Event Comment: [L+Letter from Henry Woodward, Comedian, The Meanest of all Characters To Dr John Hill, Inspector-General of Great Britain, the greatest of all characters completely damns Hill as unsuccessful player, apothecary, doctor, scholar, writer, and gentleman. It ran to three editions in the year.] We hear great interest is being made to succeed Mr Serjeant Shore, deceased, as Serjeant Trumpet to his Majesty, which is in the gift of his Grace the Duke of Grafton as Lord Chamberlain; and that the contest lies chiefly between that excellent performer, Mr. Valentine Snow, Trumpet to the First Troop of Horseguards; Mr. Debourg, the violin; and Mr Beard, of the theatre Royal in Drury Lane (Public Advertiser). Receipts: #150 (Cross)

Event Comment: Afterpiece: A new farce by Doctor Heffinal [sic] for his benefit. O Sad! (Cross). Tickets at Forrest Coffee House, The Bedford, and Randall's, and author's lodgings at Mew's Coffee House. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser, 24 April: Sir, Let this suffice for a general answer to all unfriendly whispers or paragraphs against the new farce to be performed tonight at Drury Lane -its author never previously Caballed, never published his sentiments of any stage performance till after the run -then neither the writer nor manager could be injured -its principal characters are Lady Protea, a coquet alarmed at the apprehension of dying amid; Lord Epigram Strainwit, a pert coxcomical witling; Dr Matho, a Virtuoso, Antiquarian, and in love; Dreadnought Broadside, a sea-officer and strenuous Antigallican. I am &c. Receipts: #90 (Cross)

Event Comment: Afterpiece alter'd from Beaumont & Fletcher (Cross) being a sequel to Catherine and Petruchio; or, The Taming of the Shrew (Public Advertiser). Benefit for Pritchard. Tickets of Pritchard in Great Queen St.; Lincoln's Inn Fields; and at Pritchard's Warehouse in Tavistock St. [The Larpent MS 133 lists the characters: Sophocles, Tranio, Maria, Bianca, Jaques, Petruchio, Petronius, Pedro, Citizens, Countrymen, Doctor, Apothecary, 1st Watch, 2nd Watch.] Receipts: #140 (Cross)

Event Comment: Benefit for Ackman, Harrison, and Scrase. Tickets deliver'd by Walker will be taken. No Building on the Stage. [Genest, IV, 519, lists The Mock Doctor for the afterpiece, apparently by mistake.] Receipts: #170 (Cross)

Event Comment: Paid Pattinson (Tallow Chandler) #38 3s.; Paid Doctor Macdonogh the balance for Bt. for General Lying In Hospital, Oxford Road #11 15s. (Account Book). Receipts: #200 8s. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Webster. Public Advertiser, 14 Mar.: Tickets to be had of Webster at his house, No. 2, Paul Baker's Court, Doctors Commons. Receipts: #207 15s. 6d. (57.2.0; 19.3.0; 0.9.6; tickets: 131.1.0) (charge: #105)

Event Comment: Serenata: Composed by the late Dr Arne, with Alterations and additional Chorusses from the Doctor's own Manuscripts. Books of the Serenata to be had at the Theatre

Event Comment: By Permission of the Lord Chamberlain. Benefit for the Author. Play [1st time; T 5]: Written by the Rev. [Thomas] Stratford. The Doors to be opened at 6:00. To begin at 7:00. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. 1st Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. Tickets to be had of Dr Stratford, No. 5, Cecil-street, Strand, and of Fosbrook at the Theatre. Dr Stratford, in the overflowing of a grateful heart, is happy indeed in returning thanks to the Ladies and Gentlemen who, with equal benignity and humanity, have so generously exerted themselves in bringing forward his tragedy of Russel. Above the mean manoeuvres that have been practised by persons he had the least reason to expect such a conduct from, and which have detained him almost three years in London, at a ruinous expense, he went with a party of his friends, on Wednesday last, to the Hay-market, in support of the other Lord Russel, penned by superior genius. As he never injured an individual, he trusts every intention to defeat the success of his play will be disappointed by a generous London audience who, he still presumes to hope, will be actuated by the same noble spirit and principle that first induced the Lady and Gentleman to undertake so arduous a task as appearing on a public theatre. As many parts of the play will be expunged and altered, he begs leave to mention that it cannot be again represented till Wednesday next, when the characters of Lord Howard and Hubert will be performed by two other Gentlemen, who have generously undertaken their parts, and an entire new address will be spoken by the Gentleman who performs Lord Russel, wrote by himself. "The performers ... rendered the Doctor's Tragedy one of the most laughable farces at which we were ever present. [It] has much Calimanco in it, and where we could hear a sentence compleat (which was seldom indeed) it abounded with Fustian" (Public Advertiser, 21 Aug.)

Event Comment: Benefit for the Author [of mainpiece, who is named in the Account-Book, but not on the playbill]. "The Captives were set at liberty last night, amidst roars of laughter. I see the doctor [i.e. the author] publishes it this week . . . Cadell bought this sublime piece before it appeared, for fifty pounds, agreeing to make it a hundred on its third representation. It has been played three times, and I dare say old Sanctimony will have no remorse in taking the other fifty." J. P. Kemble to Edmond Malone (Life of Edmond Malone, by Sir James Prior, i860, p. 126). Receipts: #138 13s. 6d. (91/19/0; 40/18/0; 5/16/6; tickets: none listed) (charge: #105)

Event Comment: By Permission [of the Lord Chamberlain]. 3rd piece: Written by A. Murphy, Esq. The Doors to be opened at 5:30. To begin at 6:30. Tickets to be had at the Shakespeare, Covent-garden; the Chapter Coffee-house, Paternoster-row; the Horn Tavern, Doctors Commons; the Theatre, where Places for the Boxes may be taken; and at Abbott's Academy, Bridges-street, Westminster

Event Comment: [In mainpiece the playbill assigns Witwou'd to Dodd, but "In Dodd's absence, Suett was Witwou'd' (World, 13 Nov.). As afterpiece the playbill announces the 9th night of The Doctor and the Apothecary, but it was not acted, presumably because of Dodd's absence. Both Kemble Mem. and the Account-Book list the substitute play. See 15 Nov.] Receipts: #81 17s. 6d. (65.7.0; 16.4.0; 0.6.6)

Event Comment: Twelfth Night and The Doctor and the Apothecary [both advertised on playbill of 25 Nov.] are obliged to be deferred on Account of the Indisposition of Dodd. Receipts: #130 3s. (110.0; 18.12; 1.10)

Event Comment: The Doctor and the Apothecary [advertised on playbill of 15 Dec.] is deferred on account of the Indisposition of Mrs Crouch. Receipts: #171 8s. (151.2; 19.18; 0.8)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 2 years. [Afterpiece in place of The Doctor and the Apothecary, advertised on playbill of 12 Jan.] Receipts: #145 10s. 6d. (125.10.0; 19.8.0; 0.12.6)

Event Comment: The Gamester [advertised on playbill of 9 Mar.] cannot be acted on Account of Mrs Siddons's Hoarseness. [As afterpiece the playbill announces the 20th night of The Doctor and the Apothecary, but it was not acted (see 14 Mar.). Kemble Mem. lists the substitute play.] Receipts: #25 19s. 6d. (19.5.0; 2.16.0; 2.16.0 [sic]; tickets not come in: 1.2.6). [This sum is the lowest recorded for this theatre between 1776 and 1791, the year of its demolition.

Event Comment: Tickets delivered for this Evening [Account-Book: by Benson, Bourk, Booth, Dale, Johnston, Jones, Purser, Walker, Miss Davies, Mrs Heard, Mrs Lewis, Miss Stageldoir] will be admitted. [Afterpiece in place of The Doctor and the Apothecary, advertised on playbill of 8 June.] Receipts: #257 2s. 6d. (19.7.0; 7.8.6; 1.10.0; tickets: 228.17.0)