Event Comment: Alexander the Great? [announced on playbill of 4 Nov.] is obliged to be deferred. [The playbill lists Mrs Yates as Lady Townly, but see following note. Miss Younge's name appears in all subsequent playbills, except on 19 Dec.] Alexander was advertised for this Night, but Lacy being hoarse, who was to have played Alexander, it was obliged to be deferred, and this Play substituted. It was between eleven and twelve o'clock at (Night) before we got it settled. Mr. Sheridan ordered me not to send to Mrs. Yates about (it) till the Morning. About eight o'clock I sent her Notice that the Provoked Husband was to be performed at Night. A little after nine, she sent Word by her Niece that she was never so ill treated in her life, that she was never before asked to play on the fifth of November [which day was traditionally set aside for the acting of Tamerlane], that she would not play Lady Townly that Night, nor would she play any more; and if she had an Inclination to play, she had no Cloaths ready to play it in; and sent back the Part of Semiramis in a new Tragedy that was preparing [see 16 Nov., 14 Dec.]. I got Miss Younge to do Lady Townly, and an Apology was made by Packer that Mrs Yates having refused this Morning to do Lady Townly, Miss Younge at a Minutes' Notice undertook to do it. Miss Younge was much applauded and Yates had a few hisses (Hopkins Diary). Receipts: #179 11s. 6d

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 16 years [not acted since 27 Oct. 1758]. With Alterations [by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Prologue by David Garrick]. The Characters new dressed. This Play is revived with Alterations (by R. B. Sheridan Esq) and a new occasional Prologue written by Mr Garrick? and spoken by Dodd, both well received. Miss Essex made her first Appearance upon this stage in Silvia, a small mean Figure and shocking Actress, so bad that she is to do the Part no more. Reddish was very imperfect in Vainlove from the Beginning, but was so very much so in the last Act, that the Audience hissed very much, and cryed out, 'Off, Reddish, Off!" He went forward, and addressed them as follows, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been honoured with your Favour and Protection for these ten years past, and I am very sorry to give any cause for your Displeasure now; but having undertaken the Part at a very short Warning, in order to strengthen the Bill, and having had but two Rehearsals for it, puts it out of my Power to do Justice to the Part, or myself.' The Play then went on. So great a Lye was never delivered to an Audience by any Actor or Actress before. He had the Part at least six weeks in his Possession, and repeated Notice to be ready in it, and six Rehearsals was called for it,--indeed, he attended but three. Vernon undertook to study the Part at eleven o'clock to-night, and to perform it to-morrow (Hopkins Diary). [Miss Essex was from the hay.] Receipts: #209 6s

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time in London; DR. POEM 5, by William Mason, 1st acted at Crow Street Theatre, Dublin, 30 Mar. 1764]: Written on the Model of the ancient Greek Tragedy. The Overture and all the Music composed New by Dr Arne. With a New Scene designed and executed by Dahl [recte Dall]. The Dresses, Decorations, &c. all entirely New. Books of the Lyrical Part of the Drama to be had at the Theatre. 'But I had rather talk of Caractacus; I agree that he will not suffer by not being sputtered by Barry, who has lost all his teeth. Covent Garden is rather above Drury Lane in actors, but both sets are exceedingly bad, so bad-that I almost wish Caractacus was not to appear. Very seldom do I go to the play, for there is no bearing such strollers" (Walpole [to the author, 8 Oct. 1776], IX, 419-20). "I attended Caractacus last winter, and was greatly interested, both from my friendship for Mr Mason and from the excellence of the poetry. I was out of all patience; for though a young Lewis played a subordinate part very well, and Mrs Hartley looked her part charmingly, the Druids were so massacred, and Caractacus so much worse, that I never saw a more barbarous exhibition" (Walpole [13 July 1777], X, 81-82). Public Advertiser, 7 Dec. 1776: This Day is published the Lyrical Part of Caractacus (6d.). [The publisher, J. Wilkie, states that he also has the "whole Drama, as altered by the Author, 18d." Ibid., 9 Dec., contains an advertisement from Mason stating that this version is unauthorized.] Ibid., 12 Dec.: This Day is published [by A. Ward of York] a new Edition of Caractacus, now altered for Representation at the Theatre-Royal in Covent Garden (1s. 6d.). Receipts: #163 10s. (163.6; 0.4)

Event Comment: [Henderson's 1st appearance on the stage was as Hamlet, at Bath, 6 Oct. 1772. In I.iv "after the short ejaculation of 'Angels and ministers of grace, defend us!' he endeavoured to conquer that fear and terror into which he was naturally thrown by the first sight of the vision, and uttered the remainder of the address calmly, but respectfully, and with a firm tone of voice, as from one who had subdued his timidity and apprehension" (Davies, III, 30). "Palmer's Ghost would have been more in character had he given less into the rant of declamation and the bustle of stage action, which accord not with our ideas of a supernatural being; his crying, likewise, at the recital of his murder, was childish, and destroyed the solemnity of the scene' (Morning Post, 27 June).

Event Comment: Mainpiece: With Alterations [by David Garrick]. [Henderson was from the hay.] 'The style of Henderson did not assimilate with the tone of the [dl] company. They declaimed in a higher key, and more upon the level. The frequent under-tones the former hardly struck the ear at any considerable distance' (Boaden, Siddons, I, 170). Receipts: #225 8s. (204.2; 20.14; 0.12)

Event Comment: London Chronicle, 12 Mar.: "The chorusses were more in character than we ever remember, from the circumstance of mixing women's voices with the boys'.

Event Comment: The natural grandeur and commanding air of [Mrs Yate's] deportment contradicts the whole idea of the part...We cannot help thinking that [the two characters] would be much better play'd throughout, if they were exchanged; the haughty Alicia would sit much more characteristically on Mrs Yates, and Mrs Crawford would give a degree of plaintive softness to Jane Shore which seems to have been intended by the author (Gazetteer, 3 Nov.)

Event Comment: [As afterpiece the playbill announces the 31st night of The Touchstone (see 20 Feb.), but "The entertaiment at Covent-garden theatre was obliged to be changed last night, on account of Lee Lewes being seized with a most violent inflammation in his right arm...Hand-bills, announcing that The Reprisal would be the farce, were distributed at each door of the theatre as the company came in; when the tragedy, however, was ended, some persons in the galleries...began an alarming disturbance, calling out vociferously for the pantomime...and continued throughout the farce to behave in the most savage manner, pelting every actor and actress as fast as either came on the stage. Mrs Morton stood their fire of oranges, apples, and pieces of wood, with more heroism than prudence. At length the brutes aimed at her head with an orange, which struck her a violent blow, and she fainted immediately" (Morning Chronicle, 16 Feb.).

Event Comment: Benefit for Reddish [and his last appearance on the stage]. Tickets sold at the Doors will not be admitted. Public Advertiser, 1 May: Tickets to be had of Reddish, No. 14, near the Turnpike, Tottenham Court Road. "Poor Reddish, on the 5th of May, had a benefit, and it was resolved to try whether he could not go through the character of Posthumus. He was now infirm; in common occurrences imbecile, but to be exited by his former profession, or nothing. The late John Ireland gave an affecting detail of this attempt. He met his friend an hour before the performance began. Reddish entered the room with the step of an idiot, his eye wandering, and his whole countenance vacant. Mr Ireland congratulated him, that he was sufficiently recovered to perform his favourite Posthumus. 'Yes', said he, 'and in the garden scene I shall astonish you.' 'The garden scene! I thought you were to play Posthumus?' 'No, Sir, I play Romeo.' His friend assured him that Posthumus was the part he was to act--and he walked to the theatre, reciting Romeo all the way. When dressed for Posthumus, and in the green-room, it was still hard to undeceive him--at length he was pushed upon the stage....The instant he came in sight of the audience his recollection seemed to return; his countenance resumed meaning, his eye became lighted up, he made the modest bow of respect, and played the scene as well as he had ever done. But Romeo again met him in the green-room, and it was only the stage cue that had the power to unsettle this delusion; and that never failed to do it through the whole play. Mr Ireland thought him, on this occasion, less assuming and more natural than he had seemed in the full enjoyment of his reason" (Boaden, Kemble, I, XVI-XVII; Ireland, 58-60)

Event Comment: [Mainpiece: Prologue by Nicholas Rowe.] Afterpiece [1st time; F 2, by Henry Knapp. Larpent MS 535; not published. Author of Prologue unknown]. The audience indulged "in the usual scornful hissing of theatrical displeasure. The Second act [of the afterpiece]...was not suffered to proceed to its conclusion; and the actors, when it was not more than half gone through, were driven from the stage by the clamours of almost all the spectators" (London Chronicle, 6 Nov.). Receipts: #192 5s. (188.14.6; 3.10.6)

Event Comment: Opera [1st time; Past 3, author unknown]. The music [to Part I] composed by Giovanni Battista? Bianchi, [to Part II by] Rauzzini, [to Part III by] Giordani. With Grand Chorusses. With new Decorations devised and painted by Novosielski, and new Dresses. The Side-boards, with a cold Collation and all sorts of Wines, at 12 o'clock. The Performance under the direction of Vestris Sen., and to conclude with a Ball. Tickets, at 2 Guineas each, are ready to be delivered at the Office in Union-court, where Boxes may be taken. No Masks will be admitted. The Doors will be opened at 9:00, and the Performance to begin at 10:00. Books of the Performance will be given out (gratis) at the Theatre. Morning Herald, 7 June: The Omaggio, or homage paid by the vassals and tenants to their Lord, is naturally calculated to give free scope to lively, and sentimental music. In the former stile Bianchi and Giardini [sic] were equally succesful; and in the latter Rauzzini was surprisingly great, both as composer and performer...Slingsby would, in our opinion, have come out with as great a share of applause as the best of them, having to go through an English dance in his own stile, but by some unaccountable accident...the music-band stopped short when he was in the very climax of his exertions. The scenes are in the rural stile, with the addition of natural trees, flowering shrubs, &c., set in the neatest order...The company did not begin to move till about four, and by five the rooms were cleared. Public Advertiser, 7 June: The Vestris' gave incontrovertible proof of the variety of their powers...They did more, they shewed what this country had never seen-the possibility of presenting to the eye a large and extensive stage filled with dancers all in motion at the same time

Event Comment: 1st piece [1st time; PREL I, by George Colman elder; also ascribed to George Keate. Larpent MS 565; not published]: In Three Scenes of Dialogue. 2nd piece: The Music compiled by Dr Pepusch. 3rd piece [1st time; B. BALL I (see king's, 29 Mar.)]: Ballet Tragi-Comique by Signior Novestris [i.e. George Colman, the elder]. The Music by Signior Gluck. With New Scenes, Dresses and Decorations. Machinist and Painter-Signior Rookereschi. Tailor-Signior Walkerino. Morning Chronicle, 9 Aug.: Bannister with great good sense played chastely, and suffered the burlesque to arise out of his serious performance of Polly, not attempting to render the character ridiculous by making it more outre than it was rendered by his voice and figure

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 4 years. [In mainpiece the playbill does not list the Child; for the assignment see Morning Post, 10 Oct., and edition of 1787 (Rachael Randall).] "[Mrs Siddons's] merit in the character was infinite, and the applause she received unbounded. In various of her scenes the plaudits were repeated . . . During the fourth and fifth acts there was almost an incessant clapping, and when Isabella expired her death was rendered glorious by the theatre's resounding with thundering applause for more than a minute" (Morning Chronicle, 11 Oct.). "L'actrice la plus noble dans ses manieres, madame Siddons, ne perd rien de sa dignite quand elle se prosterne contre terre . . . Enfin, il arriva ce moment terrible ou Isabelle, s'etant echappee des mains des femmes qui veulent l'empechcr de se tuer, rit, en se donnant un coup de poignard, de l'inutilite de leurs efforts. Ce rire du desespoir est l'effet le plus difficile et le plus remarquable que le jeu dramatique puisse produire; il emeut bien plus que les larmes: cette amere ironie du malheur est son expression la plus dechirante. Qu'elle est terrible la souffrance du coeur, quand elle inspire une si barbare joie, quand elle donne, a l'aspect de son propre sang, le contentement feroce d'un sauvage ennemi qui se serait venge!" (Mme de Stael: Corinne, livre XVII, chapitre iv). Receipts: #181 11s. (147/0; 34/6; 0/5)

Event Comment: "I have been for two days in town, and seen Mrs Siddons . . . She is a good figure, handsome enough, though neither nose nor chin according to the Greek standard, beyond which both advance a good deal. Her hair is either red, or she has no objection to its being thought so, and had used red powder. Her voice is clear and good; but I thought she did not vary its modulations enough, nor ever approach enough to the familiar--but this may come when more habituated to the awe of the audience of the capital. Her action is proper, but with little variety; when without motion, her arms are not genteel ... I treated my eyes, not only with Mrs Siddons but a harlequin farce. But there again my ancient prejudices operated: how unlike the pantomimes of Rich, which were full of wit, and coherent, and carried on a story! What I now saw was Robinson Crusoe: how Aristotle and Bossu, had they ever written on pantomimes, would swear! It was a heap of contradictions and violations of the costume. Friday is turned into Harlequin, and falls down at an old man's feet that I took for Pantaloon, but they told me it was Friday's father. I said, 'Then it must be Thursday'" (Walpole [3 Nov. 1782], XII, 356-57, 359). Receipts: #241 6s. (222/4/0; 18/15/6; 0/6/6)

Event Comment: A new Serious Opera [1st time; ser 2, by Giovanni de Gamerra]: the Music selected from the most eminent Composers [Sarti, Anfossi, Bertoni, Bianchi], under the direction of Bertoni. "The airs which Pacchierotti has chosen for himself have served to disclose in that excellent performer such powers as we had not yet discovered, uniting into one the delicate Soprano to the more majestic and manly strains of the most accomplished Contralto" (Public Advertiser, 23 Nov.)

Event Comment: Afterpiece [1st time; P 2, by John O'Keeffe. MS: Larpent 608; not published. CG playbill of 16 Nov. 1795 has a detailed synopsis of the action]: Intermixed with Songs and Dialogue. With new Music, Scenes, Dresses, Machinery, and Decorations. The new Music composed by Shield. The new Scenes designed by Richards, and executed by Richards, Hodgins, and assistants. To conclude with a Representation of the Lord Mayor's Show on the Water. Books of the Songs to be had at the Theatre. Nothing under Full Price will be taken. "As to the Pantomime it wanted nothing on the first Night but Abbreviations . . . [which should be] omission of the Doctors, the two Women of the Town, and the whole of Edwin's Character" (Public Advertiser, 27 Nov.). Gentleman's Magazine, Jan. 1783, pp. 29-31, contains a detailed synopsis of the procession, and adds, "The personages of this procession were all dressed in the characters of the time in which they lived, and before each of them a label, a scroll, or a pageant was carried, bearing their name, or some allusion of the poets to their occupation. The figures in transparency were all painted as large as the life, and had a most grand and beautiful effect . . . The idea of the paintings was furnished by Mr Richards and Mr Smirk [sic], and all of them executed by the latter in a style of so much taste and excellence that it is a matter of some wonder to us, where an artist of Mr Smirk's abilities has been so long concealed . . . The glee introduced with so much applause is the composition of the late Dr Rogers (who lived in 1600); the other airs in the pantomime and procession arc by Handel, Lord Kelly, Abel, Stamitz and Shield, and have very great merit. The expense of preparing this splendid spectacle must have been very great, and the cost of continuing its representation cannot be inconsiderable, since more than 200 supernumeraries are employed to walk in the procession." Receipts: #215 3s. (206/3; 9/0)