Event Comment: By Command of Their Majesties. [Master Degville and Miss De Camp were from the Royal Circus.]

Event Comment: Benefit for the London Hospital. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. 1st Gallery 2s. 2nd Gallery 1s. Places for the Boxes to be taken at the Stage Door of the Theatre; the Doors of which will be opened at 5:30, and the Performance to begin precisely at 6:30. No Money to be returned after the Curtain is drawn up, nor will any Person be admitted behind the Scenes. [Master Braham is identified in Grove. Address by Arthur Murphy (Town and Country Magazine, July 1787, p. 324).] This was the opening night of this theatre, which had been built by and was under the management of John Palmer. Following the afterpiece he explained to the audience the objections of the proprietors of dl, cg and hay to his opening the theatre. He said that he had from the Lieutenant of the Tower of London what he considered to be sufficient permission, but that he would nevertheless close the theatre temporarily. Palmer's difficulty was that he had no really legal permission from anybody for the performance of actual plays. See 3 July, and for further details the head-note to this season. World, 18 July, prints an official accoudting for this night from the theatre's treasurer: Receipts were #273 12s.; paid for music, advertisements, servants, &c. #37 10s.; lost in bad silver #1 19s.; paid the London Hospital #234 4s.; the players acted without salary

Event Comment: Mainpiece: In I a Grand Masquerade. Account-Book: Paid Sloper [master carpenter] for Scene Men #40 17s. 11d. Receipts: #179 0s. 6d. (176.9.6; 2.11.0)

Event Comment: First time in 12 years. [See 11 April 1747.] Benefit for Burton and Philips. Tickets at Burton's at the Lock and Key in Brownlow St., Long Acre, and at stage door. Receipts: #220 (Cross)

Event Comment: This piece was greatly Cut & Alter'd. the 5th Act Entirely left out & many Airs interspers'd all through; got up with a vast deal of trouble to everbody concern'd in it but particularly to Mr Coleman, who attended every Rehearsal & had alterations innumberable to make. Upon the Whole, never was anything so murder'd in the Speaking. Mr W. Palmer & Mrs Vincent were beyond Description bad; & had it not been for the Children's Excellent performance, (& particularly Miss Wright who Sung delightfully) the Audience would not have Suffer'd'em to have gone half thro' it. The Sleeping Scene particularly displeas'd. Next day it was reported, The Performers first Sung the Audience to S leep, & then went to Sleep themselves (Hopkins). Fairies pleas'd--Serious parts displeas'd--Comic between both (Cross Diary). This piece of Shakespear's was greatly cut and altered,--the fifth act entirely left out,--and many airs introduced--got up with a vast deal of trouble to all concerned, but particularly to Mr Colman, who attended every rehearsal, and had alterations innumerable to make. Upon the whole, I believe, never was piece so murdered as this was by the singing speakers, in which Mrs Vincent and Mr W. Palmer were beyond description bad; and had it not been for the children's excellent performance (particularly Miss Wright, who ran away with all the applause and very deservedly) the audience would not have suffered them to have gone half thro' it.--The sleeping particularly displeased. The next day it was reported, the performers sung the audience to sleep, and then went to sleep themselves (Hopkins Diary-MacMillan). Overture and airs composed by the most eminent English masters. Book of the play sold at the theatre, 1s. [See "A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Hands of Garrick and Colman," PMLA, June 1939.] Receipts: #98 7s. (MacMillan)

Event Comment: Benefit for Waldron and Mrs Greville. Farce (in 2 Acts) Never performed before, and for that night only. This Farce was written by Mr Waldron-Some Applause (Hopkins Diary). [MacMillan's note from Kemble differs slightly in wording.] Paid Mr Wegg's rent half year to Lady Day last #57; Duke of Bedford ditto #164 2s. 10d.; One yrs Paving, Cleansing & Lighting to ditto #39 7s. 6d.; Mr Moody for Mr Philips #13 13s.; St Martin's Charity School, 1 year, 1774 #2 2s. (Treasurer's Book). [The Westminster Magazine for May gives the following cast for the farce: Reuben-$Waldron; Blunt-$Moody; Sharp-$Dodd; Flimsy-$LeMash; Joseph-$Burton; Mrs Reuben-$Mrs Davies; Betty-$Miss Platt. It then bluntly tells the plot and concludes: "The whole is beneath criticism."

Event Comment: Benefit for Hurst and Burton. Public Advertiser, 26 Apr.: Tickets to be had of Hurst at More's, pastry cook, the East End of the New Church, Strand; of Burton, No. 149, Fleet-street. Receipts: #111 18s. (27.0.0; 20.19.6; 0.13.6; tickets: 63 .5.0) (charge: #64 11s. 6d.

Event Comment: Afterpiece [1st time; P 2 (?), author unknown. Not in Larpent MS; not published]: Consisting of the most Approved Scenes of the following Pantomimes: The Witches, The Cauldron, The Genii, Fortunatus, Queen Mab, The Elopement, &c. The Music from Eminent Masters. The Scenes by Greenwood. [This is not the same as the pantomime of the same name acted at cg, 26 Dec. 1776.] [In mainpiece the playbill retains Barrymore as Claudio, but "Benson [was] the substitute of Barrymore in Claudio" (London Chronicle, 28 Dec.). Dubois, in the afterpiece, was from Sadler's Wells.] Receipts: #217 4s. 6d. (186.9.0; 28.16.6; 1.19.0)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Pritchard (Cross). Mainpiece: Not acted these 30 years. This day publish'd. Price 1s. Reflections upon Theatrical Expression in Tragedy. [By Roger Pickering. This is a defense of the theatrical profession, "which in all countries is considered low and contemptible." Author's thesis: "A master of theatrical expression in all its extensive significancy must be possess'd of such accomplishments, as to set the profession above all contempt." Garrick is mentioned as best example. True tragic expression "requires Genius, Education, Reading, Experience...and a solidity of thought which never accompanies abject morals" (p. 11). Includes an interesting treatise on acting-sections on figure, voice, ear, memory, management of feet and legs. Comments on costume: "Taste in dress demands that an actor be conversant in the mode of dress ancient and modern, in other countries as well as in our own...Alexander and Cato were not masters of the snuff box, nor Greek women of French heels." The appendix asks why all our plays are not dressed in character in point of time and place, and why they do not contain at least one "scene" proper to the country. The author (p. 61) sees need for variety in acting same role, especially when a play has a continuous run of several nights. He calls (p. 77) for creation of appropriate mood for the play by selection of proper music between the acts. Wants a softening of the prompter's bell. Concludes by damning contemporary audience manners, especially those of the stage loungers (pp. 79-81).] Receipts: #314 (Cross)

Event Comment: Benefit for Burton and Philips. Last time of performing the Afterpiece this season. Tickets deliver'd by Mr Hayes will be taken. Mainpiece: Not acted these 6 years. [See 2 Feb. 1753.] This month was published An Answer to that Important Question Whether it is lawful for the Professors of the Christian Religion to go to plays (32 pp.) [Advises members of the Congregation to read Scriptures instead.] Also published A Letter of Abuse to David Garrick. Receipts: #160 (Cross)

Event Comment: Benefit for Holland. [The additions, according to the Larpent MS 146, consist of a Scene between Master and a Beauv , wherein the Master's reflections are sound and moral, whilst the Beau's are frivolous and fatuous.] Receipts: #200 (Cross)

Event Comment: Benefit for Master Lioni and Lipmann. Tickets deliver'd by Miss Berkley will be taken

Event Comment: This play is alter'd by Mr Cumberland was very well receiv'd Mr & Mrs Barry play'd very well Alcibiades was perform'd by Mr Crofts being his first appearance upon any Stage bad figure bad voice & Play'd bad (Hopkins Diary). New Scenes, Decorations &c. Mr Crofts-a stationer in the Temple (Winston MS 10). Theatrical Review, 4 Dec.: We think ourselves oblig'd to declare that this gentleman (Crofts), by no means answered the expectations we had formed, from the accounts we had heard of him.--His voice is not bad, though it is not much above the level of common conservation; --his deportment is aukward and void of grace to an extreme; and he labors under the disadvantage of having a face destitute of expression. His gestures are extremely ungraceful, and the whole of his execution is glaringly untutored, and misconceived. His persons is very ill formed, and therefore it makes greatly against him, especially as he is the representative of Alcibiades, who was the handsomest man in all Athens, and we never remember any one's attempting to set out as a capital performer with so few requisites for the support of such an undertaking as this gentleman appears to have. Paid Dr Nares & Mr Cooke's 8 boys in the Garter, 12 nights (30th ult. incl.) #36; Master Brown 7 nights (2nd inst. incl.) #2 12s 6d.; Licence for Timon, #2 2s. (Treasurer's Book). [Larpent MS 328 of Cumberland's Timon, is one of the earliest to include scenic descriptions: "A Hall in Timon's House. The Flat Scene represents stately Folding Doors. Scene two, the Back scene is hastily drawn back and discovers a magnificent Levee Room or Salon. &c."] Receipts: #243 1s. (Treasurer's Book)