Event Comment: Benefit for Barry. [Afterpiece a Comedy in two Acts by MacNamara Morgan from Shakespeare.] Shuter did fine in the farce (Cross). Music composed by Arne. Part of Pit will be laid into the boxes, where and upon stage servants will be allowed to keep Places

Event Comment: By Particular Desire. Benefit for Cibber. Boxes 5s. Pit 3s. Gallery 2s. Upper Gallery 1s. To begin at 6:30 p.m. To prevent any interruption in the Performance, there will be no Building on the Stage. Afterpiece: The Dramatick Piece of Two Acts...is taken from the inimitable comic Scenes of Shakespeare, which contain the Humours of Antient Pistol, Justice Shallow, Sir John Falstaff, Justice Silence, the Hostess Doll Tearsheet, and the Recruits, etc. (Daily Advertiser). On Tuesday the 2d of July Mr The: Cibber had a play at Drury Lane, ye Busy Body, & farce from ye 2d pt of Henry 4th. & had 140 pounds in Money & 66 in Tickss (Cross)

Event Comment: The Shakespeare Society will meet this day at Tomkyn's, in the Piazza, Covent Garden. Dinner to be on the table at Three. None to be admitted without tickets

Event Comment: The Last New English Opera, Taken from Shakespeare's Midsummer-Night's Dream. The Music compos'd by Mr Smith. Nothing under full prices will be taken during the whole performance. [See Genest, IV, 407.] Receipts: #140 (Cross)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: At the Desire of several Persons of Quality. A few nights ago was buried under the Tower of St Bride's, Mr Benjamin Annable, the best Ringer that was ever known in the world. Till his time Ringing was only call'd an art, but from the strength of his great genius, he married it to the Mathematics and 'tis now a science. This man in figure and ringing was like a Newton in Philosophy, a Ratcliffe in Physic, a Hardwicke in Wisdom and Law, a Handel in Music, a Shakespeare in writing and a Garrick in acting. O Rare Ben! (Public Advertiser). Receipts: #170 (Cross)

Event Comment: SShakespear Society. Anniversary Meeting of this Society will be held this Day, at the Shakespeare's Head Tavern in Covent Garden. Dinner will be on the table at Three. E.B. Secretary

Event Comment: MMiss Barton for her first appearance did Lady Pliant pretty well--Foote, Sir Paul--the farce was hiss'd ($Cross). [N.B. The Folger Shakespeare Library has this bill, as a stage manager's MS for the printer.] Receipts: #130 (Cross)

Event Comment: [This month in the Gentleman's Magazine (p. 168) in an article entitled an Estimate of the Manners and Principles of the Times, appeared this paragraph: 'Tho' a great genius has rendered the stage the last refuge of manly taste, and with a variety of powers beyond example, establish'd nature. Shakespeare and himself, yet it is to be feared the crowd of spectators is drawn by secondary circumstances, as the fashionable part of it sit with the same face of admiration at Lear, an Opera, and a pantomime.'

Event Comment: Mainpiece: By Particular Desire. "Shakespeare, An Epistle to Garrick" by the author of the Actor [Robert Lloyd] publish'd at 2s

Event Comment: [This month the periodical, The Beauties of All Magazines Selected (London, 1763) quoted from the Theatrical Review Remarks on that Part of Dramatical Entertainments called Singing," A garrulous article concluding: The millions must be pleased-if audiences were only to be entertained with sensible exhibitions, or if only sensible people composed those audiences, whew! in what a sickly and consumptive state would be two thirds of the first rate salaries in every theatre!' (p. 76). This month publish'd An Appeal to the Publick in behalf of the Manager. Price 1s. Printed for Wilson. Hear all; and then let Justice hold the Scale. Shakespeare. A rather full description of the Fitzpatrick half-price riots, exonerating Garrick and the players. This month (probably) was published Theatrical Disquisitions; or, a Review of the late Riot at Drury Lane Theatre, 25, 26 January 1763, By a Lady (32 pp.). A calm defense of the acting profession, and a scourge of Fitzpatrick as a coward and a great nuisance. She prefers seeing plays to reading them. Holds Garrick blameless for reviving the Chances after failure of Eastward Ho. Comments at length on brilliance of contemporary stage costume in comparison with that earlier in the century.

Event Comment: Mainpiece: By Particular Desire. Afterpiece: By Desire. Benefit for Holland. Part of Pit laid into Boxes. House Charges #67 1s. 6d. [Profit to Holland #201 8s. 6d.] Tragedy (never performed) written in the manner of Shakespeare [by Joseph Reed]. Rec'd stopages 16s. 6d. Paid salary list #294 2s. 8d.; Chorus singers 1 night #2 5s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book). Receipts: #268 10s. (Treasurer's Book). To see Dido, a Tragedy in Shakespere's style, performed for the first time, with Daphne and Amintor. This piece is the production of a Ropemaker of Chadwick, and being refused by the managers, was given to Holland to be played for his benefit. It went off with considerable applause and is by desire to be performed again. Powel and Yates were good in Aeneas and Dido. Holland played Narbel, Havard Bilias, and Bensley Anchises. We had a prologue spoken by King and an Epilogue spoken by Mrs Abington. Before the play began, by the light of my wax taper read No. 1564 of the London Chronicle, in which was Night' a pretty good ode (Neville MS Diary)

Event Comment: Benefit for Gibson. Mainpiece: Not acted these 25 years. Written originally by Shakespeare, and reviv'd and adapted to the stage by Mr Theobald. Charges #66 5s. [Profit to Gibson #37 18s. 6d. plus #30 15s. from Tickets (Box 79; Pit 74).] Paid one year's Rector's Rate for the Theatre #8 6s. 8d., and for House in Bow Passage, due at Lady Day 8s. 4d. (Account Book). [Neville attended, noted the information contained in the playbill, but could not hear well from his 2s. seat in the Gallery.] Receipts: #104 3s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Doors to open at half past Four. Play to begin at half past Six. Send servants to hold places by Four o'clock. [Mrs Vincent's deficit of 1st instant received #20 3s. 6d.] Paid scavenger's rate for St Martin's due Lady Day #5 1s. Paid printer's bill #9 6s. (Treasurer's Book). Receipts: #262 7s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book). Went to Drury Lane, but could not get in. Stayed from half past 4, sometime at one Pit door, sometime at the other, till past 6, and got in at the right hand side just as the play began, and was dreadfully squeezed, but rewarded by seeing Garrick play Hamlet. The expression in his features, his eyes particularly, surpasses anything I ever saw. He is a little man, but handsome and full of that fire which marks the stronger, and of the softness natural to the tender passions. It is impossible to see his greatest excellencies from ye Gallery. Baddeley and Dodd are pretty well in Polonius and Ostrick. Mrs Baddeley and Yates do Ophelia and ye Grave Digger very well. Mrs Pritchard is great, as usual in ye Queen. Gravedigger's man-Shakespeare">Castle. Horatio-$Mr Packer. Several parts of ye play, as it is in $Shakespeare, are omitted rather improperly...The Prince Brunswick, his wife and Louisa were present (Neville MS Diary)

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Dancer. Part of Pit laid into Boxes. Send servants to hold places at 3 o'clock. Afterpiece: Never performed there. [This seems to MacMillan to be the adaptation of Shakespeare's Winter's Tale by McNamara Morgan.

Event Comment: [t the top of the Bill was Shakespeare.

Event Comment: For the House. Mainpiece: By Particular Desire. [Sometime after May, and during 1770 was published Paul Hiffernan's Dramatic Genius in Five Books, dedicated to Garrick (with a 2nd edn., 1772). Book I, delineates a plan for a permanent Temple to be erected to the memory of Shakespeare, in classical taste; Book II, details the invention of the drama, its rise to perfection, and gives a "candid disquisition of the rules laid down by the critics"; Book III, a treatise on the art of acting; Book IV, requisites for dramatic genius, in composition, and in acting; Book V, an essay on Architecture, Painting and the other arts as they relate to theatrical representation. Contains flattering comments on theatrical managers.

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Bradshaw and Mrs Dorman. Mainpiece: Acted but once these forty years. Written by Shakespeare and Revis'd by Theobald

Event Comment: By Order of the Grand Buck. Benefit for Wignell and Barnshaw. Places will be kept in the Boxes for the Brethren of the Most Noble Order, who are desired to meet the Grand Buck and his Council at the Shakespeare's Head, in the Great Piazza, Covent Garden; by Five o'clock, in order to proceed from thence to the Theatre in Procession

Event Comment: Afterpiece: A Masque (in three parts) [by George Colman] never perform'd, in which will be introduc'd the Principal Solemnities at the Installation of the Knights of the Garter. With New Music, composed by Dr Arne, Habits, Decorations and Scenes. Books of the Masque to be had at the Theatre. Receipts: #220 10s. 6d. (Account Book). The greater part is borrowed with some variation from Ben Jonson [Masque of Oberon]. The same liberty has been taken with a few passages of Shakespeare, and a Chorus of the late Gilbert West, Esq. The final chorus is from Dryden...an effort to entertain the public by the combined powers of the most eminent proficients in the arts of Music, Painting and Poetry (Adv. to Printed Edn., Colman's Dramatic Works, IV, London, 1777)

Event Comment: Paid Mr Chapman for horsekeeping [for Jubilee] #12 6s. (Treasurer's Book). [Published this month A Letter to David Garrick, Esq. on his conduct as Principal Manager and Actor at Drury Lane. Printed for S. Bladon. Accuses Garrick of controlling the press, save for two papers, and thus getting more favourbale treatment than his position and actions deserve. "You are a mere actor. You affect to feel where you do not, and imitate tones, looks and gestures, while your heart is at ease. This should heighten our opinion of you as an artist, whatever we might think of you as a man. I believe you are not generally judged of in this manner. It is not difficult to impose on the world." The author (David Williams?) deprecates Garrick's supposed handling of the actors of his company, and desires to see more Shakespeare. Suggests Garricks' acting perfection lies in the extreme, in exaggerated gesture, and sudden bursts of passion." Suggests he is getting old and should try his hand at Shylock.] Receipts: #271 (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: The Tragedy of Hamlet having been greatly Altered by D. G. was perform'd for the first time Mr Garrick playd divinely & Merited the great Applause he receivd It is Alterd much for the better in regard to the part of Hamlet & I think the alterations very fine & proper (Hopkins Diary). [MacMillan's note from Kemble considerably briefer. See "Garrick's Long Lost Alteration of Hamlet," PMLA, Sept. 1934.] Paid Mr George Garrick on account #100; Mr Bulkley for Mr Weston, #2 8s. (Treasurer's Book). [Reviewer for Town and Country Magazine comments unfavorably on the Hamlet alteration: "How far the critics will approve these mutations we will not at present determine; but the admirers of Shakespeare must certainly be displeas'd, whenever they see his immortal works mutilated."] Receipts: #284 5s. 6d. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: This night Dr William Kenrick gave his first lecture in his series of The School of Shakespeare, at the Devil's Tavern, in Fleet Street. Topic, I Henry IV. This lecture and those of the two succeeding Wednesday evenings are reviewed in the Monthly Miscellany, Feb. 1774. Receipts: #190 1s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Mainpiece: A New Comedy (never performed) [by George Colman]. Paid Miller for performing 11 nights in The Sylphs #2 15s. Paid Mr Anderson for 2 suits of women's cloaths #21 (Account Book). [The mainpiece received a scourging review in the Westminster Magazine for Feb. 1774. Gibbon attended, "We dined at the Shakespeare and went in a body to support it....Though we got a verdict for our client his cause was but a bad one. It is a very confused miscellany of several plays and tales" (John Hampden@Journal, p. 18).] Receipts: #258 3s. (Account Book)