Event Comment: [
T+Theatrical Monitor, No VI appeared this day with a blast, in the form of an occasional
Epilogue, at the morals, language and plan of the
Oxonian in Town. This was the first performance of
Macklin's afterpiece in
London. It had been played in
Dublin. "Its curious idiom, half-brogue, and half
Cockney, puzzled the audience, as did its highly topical
Irish allusions. With his usual candor, Macklin observed: 'I believe the audience are right. (The play was withdrawn after this single performance.) There's a geography in humor as well as in morals, which I had not previously considered--'"
Cooke,
Macklin, p. 270. According to
Kirkman, in his curtain speech Macklin "courageously admitted: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very sensible tha there are several passages in this play which deserve to be probated and I assure you that they shall never offend your ears again!' As soon as Mr Macklin had finished this address, the audience testified their approbation of his determination, by loud and reiterated plaudits" (Kirkman,
Memoirs of the Life of Macklin, II, 3). See Also
Charles Macklin: An Actor's Life by
William W. Appleton (
Cambridge, Mass., 1960), p. 141.