Event Comment: "At the conclusion of the Opera on Saturday, a scene of riot and tumult took place which the King's Theatre has not witnessed since the celebrated discords between 'Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee' in the days of Handel and Bononcini. At the commencement of the last dance hostilities commenced by hissing and hooting from the pit and boxes...The dancers, however, were not dismayed, but continued their evolutions, though the noise was so great that they derived but little aid from the music. At last a body of malcontents, among whom were several stars and ribbons, sallied from the pit and took possession of the stage, from which they drove the light-heeled troops, and immediately began to perform a ballet tragique. The chamber of Ifigenia was despoiled of all its ornaments, and side scenes, and patent lamps; Roman tents and triumphal cars danced on the stage in all the mazes of confusion, nor did they cease, till they had demolished everything they found that was moveable. Mr Carnevale came forward to inform the audience that Mr Gallini could not be found...The ostensible reason given for this riot, which in our opinion is not to be justified on any pretense, is that Mr Gallini has not engaged dancers of sufficient eminence" (Public Advertiser, 10 Feb.)

Event Comment: The Band, both Focal and instrumental, are considerably augmented, with the addition of the Boys from his Majesty's@Chapels@Royal, The Choirs of St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey. Tickets to be had, and places for the Boxes to be taken, of Fosbrook, at the stage-door of the Theatre. Boxes 10s. 6d. Pit 5s. 1st Gallery 3s. 6d. 2nd Gallery 2s. The Doors to be opened at 5:30. To begin at 6:30 [same throughout oratorio season]

Event Comment: Benefit for Bannister. Public Advertiser, 18 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Bannister, No. 7, Great Suffolk-street, Charing-cross. Receipts: #312 1s. (181.14; 8.2; tickets: 122.5)

Event Comment: [In mainpiece the playbill retains Miss Farren, "but on account of the sudden indisposition of Miss Farren her part in the play was read by Mrs Ward, who gave it with great effect, and having studied Miss Farren's manner, was a very tolerable substitute" (Diary, 2 May).] Afterpiece [1st time; C 3, by John Philip Kemble]: Taken from [The Country Lasses; or] The Custom of the Manor [by Charles Johnson]. Diary, 6 May 1789: This Day is published The Farm House (1s.). And see 6 May. Receipts: #165 3s. (125.12.0; 34.18.6; 4.12.6)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Wells, mainpiece [1st time; C 5, by Frederick Reynolds. Prologue by Robert Merry. Epilogue by Miles Peter Andrews (World, 16 May)]. Morning Herald, 30 Mar. 1793: This Day is published The Dramatist (1s. 6d.). Public Advertiser, 29 Apr: Tickets to be had of Mrs Wells, No 15, Beaufort Buildings, Strand. Receipts: #291 8s. 6d. (173.19.0; 9.9.6; tickets: 108.0.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Noverre. World, 19 May: Tickets, 10s. 6d. each, to be had of Noverre, No. 40, Great Marlborough-street

Event Comment: "Edwin condescended to make a buffoon of himself [in The Dramatist], for all he had to do was to amuse the audience with his knob of hair, and his versicolor'd knee strings. It is cruel to expose a great actor in such unmeaning characters" (Prompter, 28 Oct.). Receipts: #177 1s. 6d. (166.15.6; 10.6.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Jones. Tickets to be had of Jones at the White Horse, Parson's Green; at the King's Arms, Fulham; Ship, Fulham; and the George, Walham Green. Afterpiece: It is hoped that the greatest Attention will be paid, as it is impossible for the Company to cogitate throughtout the Cogibundity of Cogitations, unless the most profound Profundity of Thought is observed. Pit 2s. Gallery 1s. Good Fires in the Pit

Event Comment: 1st piece: 1st Time [at this theatre; see dl, 7 Nov.]. "Mr Hayley's Marcella, which was anticipated on Saturday evening at Drury Lane, and was received with considerable marks of disapprobation...was brought forward [at Covent Garden] under the auspices of the Author" (Public Advertiser, 11 Nov.). "[The performers all acted well at Covent Garden; and Kemble was the only one at Drury Lane who even knew his part" (Prompter, 11 Nov.). Receipts: #201 17s. (197.13.6; 4.3.6)

Event Comment: By Command of Their Majesties. To prevent Confusion Ladies and Gentlemen are requested to send their Servants to keep Places by Half past Four o'Clock. God save the King was sung "by the performers and by the audience five times: twice on the entrance of the King and Queen, once after the Play, twice after the Farce" (World, 19 Dec.). And see 23 Apr. 1790. Account-Book: In the Pit of this Night 525 Persons, this is the greatest Number ever remembered to be in at any One Time. R. P. [i.e. Richard Peake, sub-treasurer]. Receipts: #290 11s. 6d. (279.13.0; 9.18.6; 1.0.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mlle Hilligsberg. Tickets to be had of Mlle Hilligsberg, No. 7, Great Suffolk-street

Event Comment: Benefit for Miss Pope. [In 2nd piece the playbill retains Kemble as Doricourt, and Whitfield as Villers, but "I was ill; Whitfield played my Part" (Kemble Mem.). For Phillimore as Villers see 27 May.] Gazetteer, 7 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Miss Pope, Great Queen-street. Receipts: #262 9s. 6d. (108.2.0; 20.11.6; 0.15.0; tickets: 133.1.0) (charge: #116 6s. 4d.)

Event Comment: Benefit for Johnstone. 2nd piece: Taken from Mrs Centlivre's Gamesters [recte: Gamester]. 3rd piece [1st time; M.INT 1]: The Accompaniments by Shield. Gazetteer 14 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Johnstone, No. 10, Great Russell-street, Covent-Garden. Receipts: #296 11s. (153.2.6; 3.4.6; tickets:140.4.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Wilson and Williames [who is named in the Account-Book, but not on the playbill]. [The monologue refers to a criminal, Rynwick Williams, popularly known as "The Monster," who with a knife had recently attacked many women on the streets of London (see An Authentic Account of the Barbarities..(S. Bladon, 1790); World, 5 May, et seq.).] Gazetteer, 1 and 6 May : Tickets to be had of Williames and Mrs Wilson, No. 19, Great Piazza, Covent-garden. Receipts: #225 5s. (40.13; 21.14; 2.16; tickets: 160.2) (charge: #108 2s. 3d.)

Event Comment: ["The Lord Ogleby of (The Clandestine Marriage) raised Mr King to the summit of comic excellence, which his more recent great character, Sir Peter Teazle in The School for Scandal, has established him in the unrivalled possession of" (Johnson, ed. Waldron, 169).] Receipts: #245 (211.9; 33.6; 0.5)

Event Comment: Benefit for Miss Pope. Mainpiece: Not acted these 14 years [acted 1 June 1786]. Public Advertiser, 14 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Miss Pope, No. 62, Great Queen-street. Receipts: #264 19s. (91.6; 28.3; 4.2; tickets: 141.8) (charge: #121 4s. 10d.)

Event Comment: Benefit for Johnstone. Afterpiece: Not acted these 2 years. By Permission of Mr Macklin. Oracle, 28 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Johnstone, No. 10, Great Russel-Street, Covent-Garden. Receipts: #285 1s. 6d. (132.1.6; 2.3.0; tickets: 150.17.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Whitfield. Afterpiece [1st time; F 2] Translated from the French [La Nuit aux Aventures; on, Les Deux Morts Vivants, by Antoine Jean Bourlin, dit Dumaniant] by Mrs Inchbald, the Author of I'll Tell You What, Such Things Are, A Simple Story, &c. [Larpent MS 900; not published. In 1797 altered by J. C. Cross as An Escape into Prison. "In January 1788 Mrs Inchbald was translating an unnamed French play, acted three years later as The Hue and Cry" (James Boaden, Memoirs of Mrs Inchbald, 1833, I, 255-56). "Mrs Inchbald is now adapting La Nuit aux Aventures, by Dumaniant" (World, 26 Jan. 1788). In the text of Dumaniant's play the dramatis personae is the same as that in the Larpent MS. Author of Prologue unknown.] Morning Chronicle, 30 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Whitfield, No. 19, Great Piazza, Covent-Garden. Receipts: #263 13s. (68.19.0; 31.7.6; 3.13.6; tickets: 159.13.0) (charge: #116 4s. 4d.)

Event Comment: Benefit for Harley. Mainpiece: As altered from Beaumont and Fletcher by the Duke of Buckingham and D. Garrick, Esq. Not acted these 7 years. Morning Chronicle, 20 May: Tickets to be had of Harley, No. 22, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's-inn-fields. Receipts: #242 1s. 6d. (84.10.6; 7.5.0; tickets: 150.6.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Morelli. A new Comic Opera [1st time; COM 2, by Giovanni Bertati, adapted by Girolamo Tonioli]; the music composed on purpose for this Theatre by Paisiello. With new Scenes and Decorations painted by Moench; the dresses invented and executed by Lupino [from playbill of 28 June]. Under the direction of Mazzinghi. Tickets to be had of Morelli, No. 12, Poland-street. Morelli is happy in having succeeded to bring forward on his Benefit Night (though at a considerable expense) such an excellent new Opera for the entertainment of those who shall honor him with their presence; soliciting the kind patronage of the Nobility, Gentry and Public accordingly on the occasion. Morning Post, 4 June: The Subscribers and the Public are respectfully informed that the new Comic Opera of La Locanda, written expressly for this Theatre, and the only Opera ever composed by this great Master for an English audience, is some time since arrived, and will be brought out shortly

Event Comment: "The modest, tender Mrs Kemble deserves to be noticed for a faculty which she possesses, perhaps, more than any person upon the stage, more even than Mrs Siddons, who has it, however, in a very great degree. While she is upon the stage, she is always enacting, whether in speech or not; and never, for a moment, forgets the character, to look at her dress, or at the audience, or to discover any appearance of uneasiness at the consciousness of being looked at, when there is nothing to be said. The players call this bye-play; and it is a very important part of their art. We are perpetually reminding Bensley of his want of it, in speaking to the audience more than to the characters...[The playbill retains Aickin, but] Kemble read the part of the Governor for Aickin, and did not get through it very well" (Gazetteer, 29 Aug.)

Event Comment: On account of the great number of Ladies and Gentlemen who have not been able to obtain places for Artaxerxes, Mme Mara has very obligingly consented to appear this Present as well as To-morrow Evening, being positively the Last Nights of her performing before her depature for Italy. [Mainpiece in place of The Heiress; afterpiece of The Doctor and the Apothecary, both advertised on playbill of 19 Nov.] Receipts: #398 15s. (360.8; 35.5; 3.2)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: 32nd Night [i.e. in continuation, erroneously, of the reckoning for the preceding season, when it was acted 28 times]. With new Music, Scenes, Dresses, and Decorations. The Music (with a few Exceptions) composed entirely new by Shield. And new Scenery designed and chiefly executed by Richards. Books of the Songs to be had at the Theatre. "Covent-garden is the National Theatre. I was there on 10th Dec. and saw an opera called The Woodman. It was the very day on which the life story of Madam Billington, both from the good as well as from the bad sides was announced [i.e. Memoirs of Mrs Billington, and An Answer to the Memoirs of Mrs Billington, both anonymous, both predated 1792]...She sang rather timidly this evening, but very well all the same. The first tenor [Incledon] has a good voice and quite a good style, but he uses the falsetto to excess. He sang a trill on high C and ran up to G. The 2nd tenor [Johnstone] tries to imitate him, but could not make the change from the falsetto to the natural voice, and apart from that is most unmusical...But the cast is entirely used to him. The leader is Herr Baumgartner [sic], a German who, however, has almost forgotten his mother-tongue. The Theatre is very dark and dirty, and is almost as large as the Vienna Court Theatre. The common people in the galleries of all the theatres are very impertinent; they set the fashion with all their unrestrained impetuosity, and whether something is repeated or not is determined by their yells. The parterre and all the boxes sometimes have to applaud a great deal to have something good repeated. That was just what happened this evening, with the Duet in the 3rd Act, which was very beautiful; and the pro's and contra's went on for nearly a quarter of an hour, till finally the parterre and the boxes won, and they repeated the Duet. Both the performers stood on the stage quite terrified, first retiring, then again coming forward. The orchestra is sleepy" (Haydn, 273-74). Receipts: #194 11s. (191.8; 3.3)