Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not played for 20 years. Afterpiece: By Desire. The Play very dull Little Applause (Hopkins Diary). Benefit for Reddish. Theatrical Review, 28 March: The plot of this piece is taken from a well known passage in history, which, however, is too barren of incidents for the support of a piece of 5 acts, on which account it is rather languid and tedious, notwithstanding the language in general is tolerable poetical. What could induce Mr Reddish to revive so dull a performance, after it had been neglected for 20 years, we cannot conceive, unless it was with a view of having an opportunity to rant a few speeches in favor of liberty; but (as the piece was miserably represented except in the characters of Timoleon and Eunesia) we think Mr Reddish extended his liberty a little too far with the public; for which neither his Occasional Prologue, the Solemn Sacrifice, nor the Epilogue spoken by Miss Younge, made sufficient atonement. Paid 4 days salary #333 19s.; Mrs Abington's Cloaths Acct #1; Mr S. French 6 days #1 10s. (Treasurer'sBook). Receipts: #205 16s.; Charges: #67 6s. 6d.; Profit to Reddish: #138 10s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Mr Diamond made his first appearance upon the Stage in the Part of Romeo he is very younge a Smart Figure good Voice & made a very tolerable first appearance he met with great Applause (Hopkins Diary). [Macmillan's note from Kemble differs slightly.] Paid Chorus 2 nights (this inc.) #5 1s.; Paid Mr French on acct #20; Paid printer's bill #11. Paid Mr Garland, for copper plate printing #10 17s. 6d.; Paid Mr Weston, per order #18 17s. 4d. [The printer's bill was paid regularly each Thursday, averaged #8 19s. per week, and will not be further noted. Total payments this season #353. See Town and Country Magazine for favorable review of Miss Mansell as Juliet and of Diamond as Romeo.] Receipts: #208 13s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: MMiss Cheney made her first appearance this Night, in Miss Prue, a Pretty Figure, play'd with Spirit, very Aukward, & Speaks too much at the top of her Voice (Hopkins). Miss Prue by a young Gentlewoman. Great Applause (Cross Diary). This night Miss Cheney made her first appearance on the stage in the character of Miss Prue--play'd with spirit,--a very pretty, genteel Figure, but very raw and aukward--got great applause. Think there is materials in her composition with care and application to make an actress.--Mr Yates in the speech where he says 'the more she cries, the less she'll p--' happened to speak the words a little too plain, and was justly hissed by the Audience--his song was encored,--he sung it again,--a Hiss and a Clap when he went off (Hopkins Diary--MacMillan). Receipts: #187 16s. 6d. (MacMillan)

Event Comment: Afterpiece [1st time at a public theatre; C 3, by Elizabeth Craven, Baroness Craven, afterwards Margravine of Anspach, 1st acted privately at the Town-Hall, Newbury, 6 Apr. 1780. Text (G. Riley, 1781) assigns no parts. Prologue by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Epilogue by Joseph Jekyll (see text)]: With new Dresses, &c. "The Prologue [the first 30 lines and the concluding couplet of which were used by Sheridan as the Prologue to Pizarro (see dl, 24 May 1799)] was so much admired that at the request of the Duchess of Devonshire and several other of the nobility it was respoken after the piece; but as King was absent from the theatre, it was delivered by Palmer" (Town and Country Magazine, May 1780, p. 23 ). "The chief singularity was that [Lady Craven] went to it herself the second night, in form; sat in the middle of the front row of the stage-box, much dressed, with a profusion of white bugles and plumes, to receive the public homage due to her sex and loveliness. The Duchess of Richmond, Lady Harcourt,...Mrs Damer, Lord Craven,...and I were with her. It was amazing to see so young a woman entirely possess herself-but there is such an integrity and frankness in her consciousness of her own beauty and talents, that she speaks of them with a naivete as if she had no property in them, but only wore them as gifts of the gods. Lord Craven on the contrary was quite agitated by his fondness for her and with impatience at the bad performance of the actors, which was wretched indeed, yet the address of the plot, which is the chief merit of the piece, and some lively pencilling carried it off very well, though Parsons murdered the Scotch lord, and Mrs Robinson (who is supposed to be the favourite of the Prince of Wales) thought on nothing but her own charms, or him. There is a very good though endless prologue written by Sheridan and spoken in perfection by King, which was encored (an entire novelty) the first night: and an epilogue that I liked still better and which was full as well delivered by Mrs Abington, written by Mr. Jekyl. The audience, though very civil, missed a fair opportunity of being gallant, for in one of those ----logues, I forget which, the noble authoress was mentioned, and they did not applaud as they ought to have done, especially when she condescended to avow her pretty child and was there looking so very pretty...Yet Lady Craven's tranquillity had nothing displeasing;...and it was tempered by her infinite good nature, which made her make excuses for the actors instead of being provoked at them" (Walpole [28 May 1780], XI, 178-80). Public Advertiser, 14 July 1781: This Day at Noon will be published The Miniature Picture (price not listed). Receipts: #144 9s. (94.9; 48.3; 1.17)

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; DO 3, by Prince Hoare, based on Didone Abbandonata, by Pietro Metastasio]: The Musick is chiefly new, and composed by Storace. The Selections are made from the most celebrated works of Salieri, Paer, Rampini, Sacchini, Sarti, Giordani, Cimarosa, Schuster, Andreozzi. The Scenery and Machinery designed by Greenwood and executed by himself and his Pupils. The Dresses of the Tyrians, Trojans and Africans entirely new, and taken from the most accurate descriptions of the Habits of their respective Nations. [Both Miss Barclay and Master Welsh had 1st appeared at the king's oratorios, 24 Feb.]. "A procession was introduced in which an Ostrich, a Dromedary and an Elephant marched to slow music. The Masque, which concluded the opera, was some insipid stuff about Neptune and Nereids, with a representation of the Temple of Neptune. Young Welsh sang prettily in this said Masque" (Morning Herald, 24 May). "[Mara] retained only one song of her Didone [see king's, 14 Feb. 1786]; the brilliant bravura, Son Regina, of Sacchini" (Mount-Edgcumbe, 80). Morning Herald, 28 May 1792: This Day is published Dido (price not listed). Receipts: #244 8s. 6d(213.14.5; 28.15.0; 1.19.0)

Event Comment: Written by Dr Young-the Profits of ye Author for a Charity-Went off wth Great Applause, only a little Laughin, at Simson (Dymas) for his Dress, or manner, I cant tell (Cross). Mainpiece: Never Acted Before. Receipts: #220 (Cross)

Event Comment: Acted there but once. By Authority. Tickets deliver'd out by Miss Barton which could not get in on Thursday last, will be admitted this Night. [An Epistle from Mr Theophilus Cibber, to David Garrick, Esq. London: 1755, dated Nov. 20, 1755: When Th. Cibber returned from Guilford last July, he found a discharge from Covent Garden (p.5) He got a license from the Duke of Grafton to open Little Haymarket (p. 6). He began and acted ten nights in three weeks, with some success, but when Drury Lane opened, Th. Cibber was ordered to stop (p. 7). He then petitioned the Duke of Grafton to have The Haymarket for two or three times weekly for the rest of the season. He hoped that the Little Haymarket might be a nursery for young performers, as well as for new pieces (p. 24). See dl 24 Nov.