Event Comment: By Desire of several Gentlemen and Ladies. Benefit Cunningham

Event Comment: By Command of Prince and Princess of Wales. A Free Benefit for Quin. Receipts: #88 13s., plus #136 15s. from tickets. [Garrick had written Quin he was too ill to play in the mainpiece but would act in his farce. Notice of 23 March about Amphitheatre repeated.] Tickets deliver'd out for 9 March will be taken. To prevent mistakes none will be admitted into the Boxes but by tickets deliver'd by Quin, and at the Office in the Box Lobby.--General Advertiser. If any Gentlemen or Ladies shall be displeased with the alteration in the Performance of the Play [i.e., Garrick's absence] the money shall be return'd.--Theatrical Clippings, Folger Library

Event Comment: At the Desire of Several Ladies of Quality. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. Gallery 1s. 6d. [Usual concert formula. See letter to today's Daily Advertiser wherein Foote is threatened with being horsewhipped if he puts on his Diversions. This is part of Foote's publicity program.] Several of Miss Cymber's Friends [at the Play Jane Shore] mistaking the House for the Theatre in James St., are desir'd to observe this is facing the Opera House in the Haymarket.--General Advertiser

Event Comment: This Day at Noon, exactly at Twelve o'Clock...Mr Foote begs the favour of his Friends to come and drink a Dish of Chocolate with him; and 'tis hoped there will be a great deal of good company, and some joyous Spirits; he will endeavour to make the Morning as Diverting as possible. (Tickets for the Entertainment to be had at George's Coffee House, Temple Bar, without which no Person will be admitted.--Daily Advertiser, 24 April only.) Any Gentlemen or Lady, with or without Tickets, will be admitted. Sir Dilberry Diddle will be there and Lady Betty Frisk has absolutely promised. [Repeated 27 April.

Event Comment: MMr Foote thinks it his Duty to return Thanks to his Friends for the great Honour they did him Yesterday, and begs the Favour of their Company this Day at Twelve o'Clock on the same Occasion. It is desir'd by several Persons of Quality, that (to prevent confusion at going out) the Ladies and Gentlemen would pay for their Chocolate going in. [Repeated 29, 30 April.] [See Daily Advertiser on 30 April for Ed. Pinchbeck's objections against Foote's program.

Event Comment: Benefit Simpson, Gray (Constable), Plummer (Box Keeper) (General Advertiser). Gray begs the Favour of those Gentlemen and Ladies that intend to honou him with their Company, to be at the Theatre by Four o'clock, that he may be able to accommodate them with good Places. [Theatrical Clippings, Folger Library.

Event Comment: Written by Shakespear. Play to begin at 6 o'clock. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. First Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. Places for the Boxes to be taken of Mr Hobson at the Stage-Door of the Theatre. As the Admittance of Persons behind the Scenes has occasioned a general Complaint on Account of the frequent Interruptions in the Performance, tis hop'd Gentlemen won't be offended, that no Money will be taken there for the future. [This notice appears on succeeding bills for the season and will hence not be repeated. See note on public objection to nonadmittance behind scenes 22 Feb. 1748.] Receipts: #150 (Cross); #I26 12s. (Clay MS). Nichols Literary Anecdotes, II, 319-20: There is one part of theatrical conduct which ought unquestionably to be recorded to Mr Garrick's honour, since the cause of virtue and morality and the formation of public manners are very considerably dependent upon it, and that is the zeal with which he ever aimed to banish from the stage all those plays which carry with them an immoral tendency, and to prune from those which do not absolutely on the whole promote the interests of vice such scenes of licentiousness and libertinism as a redundency of wit and too great liveliness of imagination have induced some of our comic writers to indulge themselves in, and to which the sympathetic disposition of an age of gallantry and intrigue had given a sanction. The purity of the English stage was certainly much more fully establish'd during the administration of this theatrical minister than it had ever been during preceding managements; for, what the publick taste had itself to some measure begun, he, by keeping that taste within its proper channel, and feeding it with a pure and untainted stream, seems to have completed; and to have endeavoured as much as possible to adhere to the promise made in the prologue which was spoken at the first opening of that theatre under his direction, @Bade scenic virtue form the rising age@And truth diffuse her radiance from the stage.

Event Comment: Afterpiece: A Farce in 2 Acts [by Garrick] never perform'd there before. The characters new Dress'd. [For comment on this piece, see Fugitive Pieces on Various Subjects, printed by Dodsley, 1761, I, pp. 194 ff.: "The Pretty Gentlemen; or Softness of Manners Vindicated from the False ridicule under the Character of William Fribble, First printed in the year 1747."] Receipts: #140 (Cross); #149 (Powel)

Event Comment: [Whereas a Subscription is begun for an Italian Opera this Season, which will open Nov. 14, Gentlemen and Ladies who please to subscribe, are desir'd to send to the Opera office of the said Theatre.

Event Comment: We hear that the play Venice Preserv'd is in Rehearsal at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, and is to be perform'd on Friday next; and that the part of Pierre will be attempted by a Gentleman who never appear'd on any stage before (General Advertiser). [This month was published A Letter to a certain Patentee, in which the Conduct of Managers is impartially considered, and a few Periods bestowed on those darlings of the Publick, Mr G k, Mr F te, Mrs P d, &c." Addressed to Rich it is criticism of his personnel policies as manager, with side comments on his morals, and some on his performances: of his Orpheus and Eurydice, the author agrees that three flaming scenes of Hell, now left out, should have been omitted from the beginning. The Serpent, however, generally behaves himself so well, that "I have had more real pleasure in his appearance than if he had been a living one." Dislikes his replacing Ryan with Hallam, dislikes his abuse of Mrs Pritchard, criticizes his casting Hippisley as Polonius, since Polonius requires more than Hippisley can give, the latter being able to act only in the comic way.

Event Comment: Monday next Venice Preserved, for the Benefit of Mrs Cibber. N.B.: As many inconveniencies have arisen, from receiving Box Tickets in the Galleries, no Tickets will be admitted but in the Boxes, Pit and upon the Stage (General Advertiser). [The inconveniencies would seem to be connected with an overflow into the galleries of gentlemen with an animus towards The Foundling. Garrick was making an early managerial effort to control the house and render it quiet.] Receipts: #160 (Cross); #169 2s. 6d. (Powel)

Event Comment: Benefit for Barry. Pit and Boxes laid together, and Stage, for better accommodation of the Ladies, will be form'd into Front and Side Boxes. Tickets to be had of Barry at the corner of Bow St., and of Hobson at the Stage Door. [This month was printd The Town, a Satire by Wm. Kenrick, with especial attack upon Garrick and Garrick's plays. In Miss in her Teens, he boasts the strange pretense, To satire Coxcombs, while he murders sense." Kenrick is one of the few who criticizes Garrick (p. 21) for playing a low character Abel Drugger, rather than a king. He yields indirect praise to Janeton Auretti by blaming the town for cheering her dance, while neglecting the players: @Yet if Janeton shakes her slender feet@How loud the thunder clatters through the Pit.@ Prologue intended to have been spoken on the Revival of The Distress'd Mother, for the Benefit of Mr Barry, but omitted through some misunderstanding. Written by Mr Rolt, printed in Gentleman's Magazine, March 1748, p. 134.] Receipts: #270 (Cross); house charges, #60 (Powel); cash, #80 3s. 6d.; tickets, #118 5s. (Clay MS)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Woffington. As ye Curtain was rising for ye farce a Gentleman's sword was taken out of ye Scabbard & carry'd up with ye Curtain & there Hung to ye terror of those under it (least it shou'd fall) & ye Mirth of ye rest of ye Audience--a Scene man fetch'd it down (Cross). Four rows of the Pit will be rail'd into the Boxes; and the stage form'd into front and side boxes. Tickets and places of Hobson at the stage door. Receipts: #240 (Cross); house charges, #50 (Powel).This was also in her agreement to pay no more than the above sum (Powel). Cash, #84 19s. 6d.; tickets, #100 3s. (Clay MS)

Event Comment: Benefit for myself and Wife (Cross). As my business at the theatre requires a constant attendance I beg the favour of those Ladies and Gentlemen, who intend to honour me with their company at my Benefit, to send for tickets to my Lodgings, opposite the Rose Tavern in Russel St., Covent Garden; or to Mr Hobson at the Stage door, where places for the Boxes may be taken. Last time of performing the Mainpiece this season. Receipts: #107 (Cross); house charges, #60 (Powel); cash, #59 17s. 1d.; tickets, #47 1s. (Clay MS)

Event Comment: At the Great Til'd Booth, Bowling Green, Benefit for Jay [no concert formula used]. To begin at 7 p.m. At the Desire of Several Gentlemen and Ladies

Event Comment: At Lee and Yeates Sen and Jun great Theatrical Booth...will be reviv'd that celebrated Droll, call'd The Unnatural Parents; or, The Fair Maid of the West. Shewing the Manner of her being forced to wander from Home, by the Cruelty of her Parents and beg her Bread; and directs her to a Nobleman's House: How she was there taken in as a Servant; and, at length, for her Beauty and modest Behaviour, married to a Gentleman of great Fortune; with her Return to her Parents, and their happy Reconciliation. Also the Comical Humours and Adventures of Trusty her Father's Man, and the three Witches. The Scenes and Cloaths are entirely new; and the Droll the same that was perform'd by Mrs Lee 15 Years ago with great Applause. Boxes: 2s. 6d. Pit 1s. 6d. First Gallery 1s. Upper Gallery 6d. To begin each Day at Twelve o'Clock. [Notice repeated 25, 26, 27 Aug.

Event Comment: At the Tiled Booth on Blackheath. By Desire of several Gentlemen and Ladies. To begin at 6 p.m

Event Comment: By Particular Desire. [A long critical analysis of The Orphan appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine this month, admitting that it evoked compassion, but finding it deficient in "exhibiting some useful instruction."] Receipts: #130 (Cross); #109 4s. 6d. (Powel)

Event Comment: At the New Wells near the London Spa Clerkenwell. By Desire. For one night only. Benefit for Yeates Jun. A Concert, etc. Prices: 2s., 1s. 6d., 1s. To begin exactly at 6 p.m. There will be fires in proper Places to keep the Wells warm. It will be moonlight. Mr Yeates entreats the favor of those Gentlemen and Ladies who intend to honour him...that they will please to come at the time prefix'd on account of the length of the Performances; and they may depend on the whole being conducted with the utmost Decorum (General Advertiser)

Event Comment: At the New Wells, London Spaw, Clerkenwell. Benefit for Mrs Yeates. By Desire of some Gentlemen and Ladies. Particular care is taken to have the House warm. To begin at half an hour after six

Event Comment: To be seen a Person who performs the most surprizing Things...he presents you with a common Wine bottle, which any of the Spectators may first examine; this Bottle is plac'd on a Table in the Middle of the Stage, and he (without any Equivocation) goes into it in Sight of all the Spectators, and sings in it; during his Stay in the Bottle, any Person may handle it, and see plainly that it does not exceed a common Tavern Bottle. The Performance continues about Two Hours and a Half. These Performances have been seen by most of the Crowned Heads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and never appear'd anywhere Public but once. Stage 7s. 6d. where Masks may be worn. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. Gallery 2s. [The famous Bottle Conjurer hoax.] Theatre was crowded...by five o'clock; at seven the house was lighted up [but not music]...a Person came before the Curtain, and, bowing, promis'd if Mr Conjurer did not arrive in half an Hour, their Money should be return'd...after near an Hour...a Gentleman in the Box snatch'd a Candle lighted, and in Violence threw it on the Stage; this was the Signal for the Onset of Battle...the Boxes, Seats, Glasses, Scenes, Chairs, Machinery, and all the Furniture of the Play House, were in less than ten Minutes carried into the Street...an excellent Bonfire was made of Mr Foote's Auction Room...it may put a [pe]riod to the Auction, till the Theatre can be refitted.--Charles Adams to John Gilbert-Cooper, Theatre Notebook, XI (1957) p. 139. [Potter was still owner of this theatre.] Those opposed to a recent late book would have been gratified had the Conjurer jumped into the bottle and proved that miracles had not yet ceased."--Daily Advertiser, 17 Jan. Last Night a numerous Audience, among whom were several Persons of Quality, was at the New Theatre in the Haymarket, in wonderful Expectation of seeing the Miraculous Man creep into a Bottle, and do several other Miracles; but the only one he perform'd was, that he render'd himself invisible (without any Equivocation) to the no small Disappointment of the gaping Multitude; who, being told from behind the Curtain that the Performer had not yet appear'd, but that if they would stay until the next Night, instead of a Quart Bottle he should creep into a Pint, immediately grew outrageous, and in a Quarter of an Hour's Time broke to Pieces all the Boxes, Benches, Scenes, and everything that was in their power to destroy, leaving only the Shell of the House remaining. Surely this will deter anyone from venturing to impose on the public in the like manner for the future.--General Advertiser, 17 Jan. [See also dl Comment 18, 19, 20, 27 Jan.

Event Comment: Afterpiece: By desire. To Mr G-, Sir: You will very much oblige many of your friends by reviving the play of Ulisses wrote by the celebrated Mr Rowe; We apprehdnd there are four characters in which yourself, Mr Barry, Mrs Cibber and Mrs Pritchard would shine inimitably. If you think this hint worthy your notice, we make no doubt it will in every Respect answer your expectations, as well as gratify the town in general. S. W., S. T., &c. (General Advertiser). This day is publish'd, at 1s. Lethe Rehears'd or a critical discussion of the beauties and blemishes of that performance; interspers'd with occasional remarks upon dramatick satires in general, as well as on some that have been best receiv'd in particular. The whole in a free conversation amongst several persons of distinction. Printed for J. Roberts (General Advertiser). [This is a fifty@two@page puff for Lethe, and for the usefulness of the stage for propagating morals. The characters who lead the discussion are: Sir Francis Friendly , a sensible learned Gentleman; Dr Heartfree , a candid, judicious person; who has a great opinion of Mr Garrick; Mr Snip@Snap , a vociferous modern Critic; and Two Women .] Receipts: #120 (Cross); #118 12s. 6d. (Powel)

Event Comment: Written by Mr Johnson--went off very well for 4 acts, ye 5th Hiss'd greatly (Cross). 'Tis hop'd no Gentlemen will take it ill they can't be admitted behind the scenes. [Cast from first edition, but listed in order of actors given in General Advertiser, except Caraza -Burton omitted by General Advertiser, and Murza -King omitted from 1st edition.] Receipts: #180 (Cross); #194 11s. (Powel)