Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 2 years. A new and accurate Edition of the Tragedy to be had at the Theatre. "[Mrs Siddons's] eyes possess a peculiar brilliancy and animation...Her voice is sonorous and variable" (Candid Strictures, 33). Receipts: #311 13s. (296.3; 13.0; 2.10)

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; C 5, by John O'Keeffe. Prologue by John Taylor (see text). Address by John Wolcot (Pocket Magazine, supra)]: With new Dresses and Decorations. [Mrs Lee was from the Salisbury theatre.] Morning Chronicle, 11 May 1795: This Day is published Life's Vagaries (2s.). Receipts: #268 3s. 6d. (259.19.6; 8.4.0)

Event Comment: Last Night of the Company's performing this Season. Account-Book: Tickets delivered by Mrs Shotter, Wyatt, Waller, Gawdrey, Ratchford, the Band, Coombes, Page, Wilkins, Robson (door-keeper), Warwhick, Dosel, Paskin, Wells, Ansell, King will be admitted. Receipts: #467 13s. 6d. (67.10.0; 3.14.0; tickets: 396.9.6)

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; T 5, by William Henry Ireland; incidental music by William Linley. Prologue by Sir James Bland Burges; Epilogue by Robert Merry (see text)]: With new Scenes, Dresses & Decorations. The Scenes designed and excuted by Greenwood and Capon. The Dresses by Johnston, Gay & Miss Rein. Printed slip attached to Kemble playbill: A malevolent and impotent attack on the Shakspeare MSS. [i.e. those forged by W. H. Ireland, of which this play was one] having appeared, on the Eve of representation of Vortigern, evidently intended to injure the interest of the Proprietor of the MSS., Mr Samuel? Ireland [W. H. Ireland's father] feels it impossible, within the short space of time that intervenes between the publishing and the representation, to produce an answer to the most illiberal and unfounded assertions in Mr Malone's enquiry [i.e. Edmond Malone, An Inquiry into the Authenticity of certain Papers attributed to Shakspeare, Queen Elizabeth, and Henry, Earl of Southampton, 1796]. He is therefore induced to request that Vortigern may be heard With that Candour that has ever distinguished a British Audience. The Play is now at the Press, and will in a very few days be laid before the Public. [But it was not issued until 1799 (see below). See also Bernard Grebanier, The Great Shakespeare Forgery, London, 1966.] 4 Apr., states that the first three acts were listened to with patience, but beginning with the fourth act the play was damned, when "one tremendous yell of indignation from the pit burst simultaneously." "At four o'clock the doors of the theatre were besieged; and, a few minutes after they were opened, the pit was crowded solely with gentlemen. Before six not a place was to be found in the boxes, and the passages were filled...The audience betrayed symptoms of impatience early in the representation; but, finding its taste insulted by bloated terms, which heightened the general insipidity, its reason puzzled by discordant images, false ornaments, and abortive efforts to elevate and astonish, pronounced its sentence of condemnation at the conclusion of the play" (Gentleman's Magazine, Apr. 1795, pp. 346-47). "Irelands play of Vortigern I went to. Prologue spoken at 35 minutes past 6 [see 29 Mar.]: Play over at 10. A strong party was evidently made to support it, which clapped without opposition frequently through near 3 acts, when some ridiculous passages caused a laugh, mixed with groans-Kemble requested the audience t o hear the play out abt. the end of 4th act and prevailed.-The Epilogue was spoken by Mrs Jordan who skipped over some lines which claimed the play as Shakespeares. Barrymore attempted to give the Play out for Monday next but was hooted off the stage. Kemble then came on, & after some time, was permitted to say that "School for Scandal would be given," which the House approved by clapping. Sturt of Dorsetshire was in a Stage Box drunk, & exposed himself indecently to support the Play, and when one of the stage attendants attempted to take up the green cloth [i.e. a carpet which, by custom, was laid on the stage during the concluding scene of a tragedy], Sturt seized him roughly by the head. He was slightly pelted with oranges" (Joseph Farington, Diary, 1922, I, 145). Account-Book, 4 Apr.: Paid Ireland his share for the 1st Night of Vortigern #102 13s. 3d. Morning Chronicle, 29 Mar. 1799: This Day is published Vortigern and Henry the Second (4s.). Receipts: #555 6s. 6d. (528.6.0; 26.9.6; 0.11.0)

Event Comment: [as Miss Mahon Mrs Second has sung in the cg oratorios in 1789 and 1790.] Receipts: #189 5s. (187.5.6; 1.19.6)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Not acted these 4 years. [In mainpiece the playbill assigns Acasto to Murray, but "An apology was made for Murray, who was prevented by illness from playing Acasto, which, at a short notice, was taken by Hull" (True Briton, 14 Oct.).] "This whole of [Mrs Spencer's] performance was marked by such unaffected simplicity that it was almost impossible to consider it as the mere fiction of the scene. This lady is really a great aquisition to the house" (True Briton, ibid). Receipts: #254 6s. 6d. (244.18.6; 9.8.0)

Event Comment: By Authority of the Lord Chamberlain. Benefit for Lacy, formerly of the Theatre Royal, Drury-Lane. Tickets to be had of Fosbrook, at the Box Office of the Drury Lane Theatre, and Rice, at the Box Office of the Theatre-Royal, Haymarket, where Places for the Boxes may be taken. [Address by John Taylor (Monthly Mirror, Dec. 1798, p. 370). On this night the following appeared both at dl and at the hay: Hollingsworth, Caulfield, Bannister Jun., Suett, Miss Pope, Mrs Bland.

Event Comment: By Permission of the Lord Chamberlain. Benefit for an Infant Orphan Family. Tickets to be had at No. 17, Tufton-street, Westminster; of Appleby, Hosier, Parliament-street; Mrs Cleaver, Cannon-row, Parliament-street; Newcomb, Confectioner, Bridge-street, Westminster; Taylor, Linen-draper, Whitehall; Thomas, Butcher, Charing-cross; Medhurst, Pastry Cook, Russel-court, Drury-lane; Rice, at the Theatre, where Places for the Boxes may be taken

Event Comment: [Extra night] Benefit for the General Lying-In Hospital, Bayswater, Under the Patronage of Her Majesty. Tickets to be had at the Hospital; of Longman and Wilkinson, Cheapside; Broderip andCo., Haymarket; and of Brandon at the Theatre, where Places for the Boxes may be taken. Many of the Re-Renters have generously relinquished their Privilege upon this Night. [Faulkner had acted at dl on 21 Dec. 1796, and Mrs Johnstone at cg on 4 Jan. 1798.] Receipts: none listed

Event Comment: Receipts: #116 10s. Probable attendance: boxes, 191 paid and 12 orders; pit, 262 paid and 5 orders; slips, 25 paid and 2 orders; first gallery, 242 paid and 6 orders; second gallery, 50 paid and 1 order. For an essay on Camilla, see London Journal, 26 Nov. Mrs Pendarves to Anne Granville, 27 Nov.: I was at the opera of Camilla...performed by a Mrs Chambers, Mrs Barbiere, Mrs Fletchere, a Signor Rochetti, Mr Leveridge, Mr Legard. I can't say I was much pleased with it, I liked it for old acquaintance sake, but there is not many of the songs better then ballads.-Mrs Delany@Autobiography, I, 125

Event Comment: Receipts: #69 4s. 6d. Mrs Pendarves to Mrs Ann Granville, 12 Dec. (Delany, Autobiography, I, 101-2): I was to see the opera of Dioclesian, and was very much disappointed, for instead of Purcell's musick which I expected, we had Pepusch's, and very humdrum it was; indeed I never was so tired with anything in my life

Event Comment: For a comment by Mrs Pendarves to Mrs Anne Granville, 20 Dec., see Delany, Autobiography, I, 229

Event Comment: Benefit Carlo Broschi Farinello. With several Alterations and Additions. Pit and Boxes, Places on the Stage, at Half a Guinea. N.B. Signor Farinello humbly hopes, that the Subscribers will not make use of their Tickets on this Occasion. The Stage will be in the same Manner as in the Assembly with a great Number of Benches. Mrs Pendarves to Mrs Granville, 15 March: Tonight is Farinelli's benefit; all the polite world will flock there, and go at four o'clock, for fear they should not be time enough. I don't love mobbing, and so I shall leave them to themselves. Daily Advertiser, 13 March: 'Tis expected that Signor Farinelli will have the greatest Appearance on Saturday that has been known. We hear that a Contrivance will be made to accommodate 2000 People. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has been pleas'd to give him 200 Guineas, the Spanish Ambassador 100, the Emperor's Ambassador 50, his Grace the Duke of Leeds 50, the Countess of Portmore 50, Lord Burlington 50, his Grace the Duke of Richmond 50, the Hon. Col. Paget 30, Lady Rich 20, and most of the other Nobility 50, 30 or 20 Guineas each; so that 'tis believ'd his Benefit will be worth to him upwards of 2000l

Event Comment: Composed by Mr Handel. [Prince and Princess of Orange, Princess Caroline, Mrs Pendarves, Lady Rich, and Egmont present.]

Event Comment: A New Serenata. [Music by Giovanni Battista Pescetti.] Tickets half a guinea. 6 p.m. Mrs Pendarves to Lady Throckmorton, 28 Nov.: The concerts begin next Saturday at the Haymarket. Caristini sings, Peschetti composes; the house is made up into little boxes, like the playhouses abroad; Lord Middlesex is the chief undertaker, and I believe it will prove to his cost, for concerts will not do. --Delany, Autobiography, II, 66

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; CO 3, by James Cobb. Text: T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1800. Miss Waters is identified in the Songs]: The Scenes, Music, Machinery, Dresses, and Decorations are all entirely new. The Music composed by Mazzinghi and Reeve. The Scenery painted by Richards, Phillips, Lupino, Hollogan, Backmore, &c. [based on drawings of Indian scenery by Thomas Daniell]. The Machinery and Decorations by Cresswell, Sloper, Goostree, &c. The Dresses by Dick and Mrs Egan. Books of the Songs, also describing the Scenes and Spectacle of the Return from the Tiger Hunt, to be had at the Theatre, price six pence. "The whole [forms] an exhibition of the utmost grandeur...The expense attending the decoration must have been immense...The dailogue is certainly not of the first description of writing, but it forms, on the whole, a very safe vehicle for some of the best music the English stage has for some time been able to boast"(Morning Herald, 13 Nov.). Account-Book, 27 Dec.: Paid Cuthbert for Wheels, &c. for the Elephants #13 18s. Receipts: #364 7s. 6d. (363.19.6; 0.8.0)

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)

Event Comment: Afterpiece [1st time; P 2, by Thomas John Dibdin; pantomime by Charles Farley]: With new Scenery, Machinery, Tricks, Dresses, and Decorations. The Overture, Airs and Chorusses by Attwood. The Pantomime Music by Attwood, Mountain, and Ealy [recte Eley]. The Scenery by Phillips, Lupino, Hollogan, Blackmore, Thorne, Wilkins, &c. The Machinery and Tricks by Cresswell, Sloper and Goostree. The Dresses by Dick and Mrs Egan. Books of the Songs to be had at the Theatre. Receipts: #364 (353.12; 10.8)

Event Comment: [Mainpiece in place of The Merry Wives of Windsor, advertised on playbill of 10 Feb.] Afterpiece [1st time; BALL. P 1 (?), by John Cartwright Cross. Airs (T. Woodfall, 1798)]: The Scenery, Machinery, Dresses and Decorations entirely new. The Music by Reeve. The Scenery painted by Richards, Phillips, Lupino, Hollogan, and Blackmore. The Machinery by Cresswell, Sloper, Goostree, &c. The Dresses by Dick, Mrs Egan, &c. Receipts: #294 0s. 6d. (270.16.6; 23.4.0)

Event Comment: [Miss Arne, who is identified by MS annotation on Kemble playbill, had previously appeared as a chorus singer; see 27 Oct. 1794. In mainpiece the playbill assigns Mrs Peachum to Mrs Hopkins, Suky Tawdry to Mrs Maddocks, Mrs Coaxer to Miss Stageldoir, but "Mrs Hopkins being ill, Mrs Maddocks play'd Mrs Peachum; Mrs Hedges Suky Tawdry for Mrs Maddocks; Miss Stageldoir Ill, Mrs Jones play'd Mrs Coaxer. [In afterpiece] Jones Ill, Lyons Snuffle; Evans 4th Mob for Lyons [both these characters omitted from playbill]" (Powell).] Powell: Mayor of Garratt rehearsed at 12; New Ballet at 12. Receipts: #174 10s. (121.14; 51.2; 1.14)

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; C 4, by George Colman elder. Prologue by the author (Morning Chronicle, 13 Oct.). Scenery by Rooker (ibid. 1 Sept.). Larpent MS 490; not published; synopsis of plot in London Magazine, Sept. 1779, pp. 405-7]. "The first three acts want business, and the denouement is rather suddenly brought about...The greatness of the task of performing a character of which Mrs Abington had been announced as the intended representative seemed to inspire [Miss Farren] with additional zeal, and helped her to gain additional credit" (Morning Chronicle, 1 Sept.)

Event Comment: Afterpiece [1st time; P 2 (?), by John Cartwright Cross]: With new Music, Scenery, Machinery, Dresses, &c. The Overture and new Music by Reeve. The Scenery painted by Richards, Phillips, Lupino, Hollogan, and Blackmore. The Machinery by Cresswell, Sloper, Goostree, &c. The Dresses by Dick, Mrs Egan, &c. Receipts: #314 15s. (303.1; 11.14)

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; C 5, by Hannah Cowley.] Miss Younge had a song [Wake, thou son of dullness] composed by Michael Arne. Authors of Prologue and Epilogue unknown]: New Scenes and Dresses. Account-Book, 16 June: Paid Mrs Cowley for suspending the publication of the Belle's Stratagem #100. Public Advertiser, 1 Apr. 1782: In a few Days will be published The Belle's Stratagem. A spurious Copy having been published in Ireland [in 1781] make[s] it necessary to observe that the above is the genuine Comedy, as performed at Covent Garden Theatre. Ibid., 9 Apr. 1782: This Day is published The Belle's Stratagem (1s. 6d.). Receipts: #213 19s. (212.15.6; 1.3.6)

Event Comment: Mainpiece [1st time; C 5, by John Philip Kemble]: Taken from [The Rover, by] Mrs Behn, with considerable Alterations. With new Dresses and Decorations. Receipts: #165 14s. 6d. (133.8.0; 31.14.0; 0.12.6)