Event Comment: Afterpiece: An English Burtetta from the Italian. Music by Sig Adolfo Hasse (playbill). Burletta Damn'd (Cross). Acted but once and not printed (Genest, IV, 579). Mainpiece: By Particular Desire. Receipts: #140 (Cross)

Event Comment: MMrs Love play'd Mrs Peachum very bad. Her fit seem'd a very Aukward Imitation of Mrs Pritchard in the Jealous Wife (Hopkins). Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. No money received at the Stage Door. None returned after the curtain is up. Play to begin exactly at 6 o'clock. Places may be had of Mr Johnston at the Stage Door. Vivat Rex et Regina. [Customary notice, which will not be repeated here, Sept. 15 David Garrick & his Lady set out for Italy from his house in Southampton St. Covent Garden (Winston MS 9). Winston also refers to a Sept. 9 Letter from T. Davies, cg, to the poet Charles Churchill begging he would not introduce so unimportant a person as himself in his Smithfield Rosciad.] Receipts: #248 9s. (Cross Diary)

Event Comment: Benefit for Champnes and Mrs W. Barry (playbill). [N.B. Winston suggests Cymbeline this night, but all extant playbill evidence favors Cymon. "Sir Joshua Reynolds purchased portrait of Garrick as Abel Drugger by Zoffany for #100" (Winston MS 10, from Burney News Clippings).

Event Comment: A Serious Opera in 2 acts [1st time; altered by Carlo Francesco Badini from Demetrio, by Metastasio]; the music by Gresnick. By their Majesties' Command no person can be admitted behind the scenes. Pit 10s. 6d. 1st Gallery 5s. 2nd Gallery 3s. The Doors to be opened at 6:30. To begin exactly at 7:30 [see 2 June 1787]. Subscriptions are received at Messrs Ransom, Morland and Hammersley's, Bankers, No. 57, Pall-mall, who will deliver the subscription tickets. The Nobility and Gentry, subscribers to the Opera-house, are respectfully intreated to send for them, in order to prevent future mistakes, as nobody can be admitted without producing a ticket. To prevent inconvenience to the Nobility and Gentry in getting to their carriages, they are most respectfully intreated to give positive orders to their servants to set down and take up with their horses' heads towards Pall-mall. The doors in Market-lane for chairs only. [Synopsis of opera in Morning Post, 25 Dec. Mme Perignon and Goyon were from the Opera, Paris.] Receipts: #86 11s. 6d. [These receipts, and those on all other nights throughout the opera season, represent the sale of non-subscription tickets. On this night 400 tickets were delivered to Prendergrass, office-keeper at the Haymarket pit entrance; of these he sold 84 at 10s. 6d. (i.e. #44 2s.). 100 were delivered to Reynolds, office-keeper at the King's Door pit entrance; he sold 6 at 10s. 6d. (i.e. #3 3s.). 300 were delivered to Butler, office-keeper of the 1st Gallery; he sold 112 at 5s. (i.e. #28). 200 were delivered to Snelson, office-keeper of the 2nd Gallery; he sold 70 at 3s. (i.e. #10 10s.). "Difference from Gallery to Pit" (i.e. money received from persons who changed their seats from gallery to pit, 16s. 6d.). The delivery of 1,000 non-subscription tickets to be disposed of was almost invariably the case on every night of the season. If a subscriber's box was released for sale it could be had for 2 guineas (see 6 Feb. 1787).

Event Comment: By Command of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and the Princesses Amelia, Caroline, and Louisa. Rylands MS.: Duke and Princesses present. Receipts: #100. [Winston MS. lists Constant Couple, which had been announced for this day in the previous Bill, but which seems to have been deferr'd on account of this command performance.

Event Comment: By Command of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and the Princesses Amelia, Caroline, and Louisa. Rylands MS.: Duke &c attended. [Winston MS. lists Merchant of Venice, which had been advertised on the previous day's bill, but which was supplanted by this command performance.] Receipts: #80

Event Comment: By Command of their Royal Highnesses the Duke, and the Princesses Amelia, Caroline, and Louisa. Rylands MS.: Garrick Play'd, Duke Attended. Died 31 July, aged 77, Ben Johnson (Winston MS. from Burney's Actors MSS). [See benefit for his daughter 15 Dec.] Receipts: #171

Event Comment: DDyer's MS: Garrick's first benefit, not crowded, opened lobby to dispose of tickets (Winston MS.). Tickets may be had at Garrick's lodgings in the Great Piazza, Covent Garden. Stage will be form'd into side boxes

Event Comment: Benefit the author of this bad new play, which would have sunk the 1st night but for Garrick's acting (Winston MS. from Dyer MS.)

Event Comment: Author's second Benefit. He did not get above #30 each Benefit (Winston MS. from Dyer MS.)

Event Comment: Benefit Garrick. By Command of Prince and Princess of Wales. [Winston MS. from Dyer MS.: A prodigious audience] Farce never acted there. Seven rows of the Pit will be rail'd into the Boxes. Stage to be form'd into side boxes where servants may keep places. Tickets of Mr Valliant, Bookseller, Strand; or at Garrick's, Bow St., Covent Garden

Event Comment: Benefit Pierson, Treasurer. Garrick refused to act. So he got Bridges from Dublin to play for him. (Winston MS. from Dyer MS.). Tickets and places to be had at Pierson's House, the Green Door, the Upper End of Great Queen St., Lincoln's Inn Fields, and of Hobson at the Stage Door

Event Comment: Benefit Yates and Blakes. Garrick refus'd to act. Neale did Clodio (Winston MS., from Dyer MS.). [Marr doubles Don Manuel and Sancho]. Tickets for Marr will be taken

Event Comment: Benefit Whittingham. This Gentleman had acted Hotspur (10 Feb.) very ill (Winston MS. from Dyer MS). Failed in Pyrrhus (Genest, IV, 37). Tickets to be had of Hobson at the Stage Door, and at Batson's and Tom's Coffee Houses in Cornhill. Tickets deliver'd out for Whittingham for Henry IV will be taken

Event Comment: Benefit Stevens, Waters, Brook, Hussey. As we could not have our Benefit on Saturday Last, the Company are so kind to pay for us at us at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln's Inn Fields; we humbly hope that our friends will excuse the Disappointment (it not being in our power to avoid it) and favour us on Friday, 3 June, when tickets deliver'd out for the 28th of May for Drury-Lane will be taken this night at Lincolns Inn Fields..-London Daily Post and General Advertiser. This was not acted at dl. Fleetwood refused and they acted at lif, Friday 3 June. Yates, Taswell, Mrs Macklin, Mrs Pritchard, Mrs Hale of cg and Havard Played. N.B. there was an execution on dl at the time.-Winston MS. from Dyer MS

Event Comment: Benefit for Macklin. Afterpiece: A Comedy in 2 acts written by Foote, with Prologue and Epilogue by him. Miss Macklin did Calista and a part in the farce,-all went well (Cross). A Comedy in answer to the French Farce A Frenchman in London, with a Dialogue Prologue, spoken by Macklin & his wife. Epilogue spoken by Miss Macklin. All by Foote. Part of Pit laid into the boxes, with an amphitheatre on stage, all at 5s. Full Prices (Winston MS 8). The Englishman at Paris has been better recev'd that I expected. Garrick, &c., &c....say kinder things of it than modesty will permit me to repeat. Upon the whole it was damnably acted, Macklin miserably imperfect in the words and in the character (a stain to Comedy). You might have seen what I meant,--an English Buck, by the power of dulness instantaneously transformed into an Irish chairman. Miss Roach, accompany'd by some frippery French woman occupy'd, to the no small scandal of the whole house, the Prince's box, whilst the duchess of Bedford &c., &c. were oblig'd to take up with seats upon the stage. The piece will be printed the 25th instant, which I will enclose to you (Samuel Foote to Mr Delaval, MS in Folger Shakespeare Library, written either 24 March, or, perhaps more likely, 24 April, since Foote states later in the letter he is leaving for foreign parts the first of May)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mossop. Mainpiece: By Particular Desire. Farce wrote by Mr Murphy. Went off Indiff (Cross). [It was sent to Licenser one year before, 16 March 1757 (Larpent MS 131).] Garrick first announced for Ghost [Hamlet] which he afterwards declined having new part in the farce. Part of Pit into Boxes. Amphitheatre on stage (Winston MS 9). Receipts: #280 (Cross)

Event Comment: Benefit for Austin and Wood. Wood, Sub Treasurer (Winston MS 8). No Building on Stage. Receipts: #140 (Cross). [The Prologue was The Night's Adventure of a Buck, Larpent MS 147. The mid-portion shows the Buck at the playhouse]: @First to the Playhouse,--not to hear the play--@I went to pass an hour or so away,@For what to me are Shakespears, Otways, Rowes,@Their, Jaffiers, Bajazets, andRomeos?@Such mouthing rascals give no joy to me@I get behind the scenes, and there d'ye see,@I strut, and ogle, pull the girls about@Stand in the way, and put the actors out.@These, these are joys, which only Bucks can know,@And all the pleasures playhouses bestow...

Event Comment: About this time Mr Theo: Cibber Mr Maddocks the wire Dancer, & several other Theatrical performers, with & number of other Passangers embark'd on board the Dublin, Captain White, in order to go to Ireland but the Ship was lost & every Soul perish'd (Cross). As Mr Sparks & others complain'd of Mr Wilkinson for taking them off, it [Diversions of ye Morning] was intended to be omitted this Night, But the Audience call'd so violently for it, that we were oblig'd to let him do it--he took off Foote & Sheridan, & wou'd have left out Sparks but ye Audience wou'd not be satisfied without it--when they first call'd Mr Foote went forward & said as some of the performers had complain'd it was to be omitted; as for being taken off himself he had no Objection to it, as he was always glad to contribute to their Entertainm[en]t &c. (Cross). Mainpiece: Not acted these 2 years [see 14 Oct. 1756]. Receipts: #130 (Cross); #139 10s. (Winston MS 8)

Event Comment: Great Calling for ye Imitations & they were done (Cross). Receipts: #130 (Cross); #160 10s. 6d. (Winston MS 8)

Event Comment: Imitations as before (Cross). Mainpiece: Not acted these 3 years [see 5 Oct. 1756]. Receipts: #100 (Cross); #120 11s. (Winston MS 8)

Event Comment: Imitations as before (Cross). Receipts: #130 (Cross); #154 9s. 6d. (Winston MS 8)