Event Comment: The People flock'd about the doors by Two o'clock. there never was a greater Overflow-Mr G. was never happier in Lear -the Applause was beyond description 3 or 4 loud Claps Succeeding one another at all his exits and many Cry'd out Garrick for Ever &c., &c. House (Hopkins Diary). [Kemble's note differs slightly.] Paid Mr Short, Chorus Singer #1 10s. (Treasurer's Book). Hannah More wrote to Mrs Gwatkin: The eagerness of the people to see Garrick is beyond anything you can have an idea of. You will see half a dozen duchesses and countesses a night in the upper boxes: for the fear of not seeing him at all, has humbled those who used to go, not for the purpose of seeing but being seen; and they now courtsy to the ground for the worst places in the house" (Hampden, Journal). [Letter to David Garrick, Esq on his appearance in Lear last night 13 May: The correspondent who signs himself Stock Fish and who claims to have been one of the survivors of the Black Hole of Calcutta, and who took a young lady from the country to see Garrick's last performance, blames him for endangering the lives of his majesties subjects for not providing proper bars, lanes, and queue lines to handle the crowds: "I went with intention to get into the Pit as the most eligible Part of the House (for your Boxes are always engag'd) and we got to the Door in Vinegaryard about five o'clock. Here the Passage to the first Door was too full for me to entertain any Hopes of getting in that Way, we therefore made for Catharine-street but the Multitudes of People waiting for the Opening of the Gallery-doors, rendered it impossible for us to get along through the Court; we therefore made a Circuit, and at length arrived opposite the Door in Catharine-street, where it was with Difficulty we could keep our Stands on a Foot Pavement....You will be absolutely inexcusable, if after this Warning you neglect to adopt some Method for the Security of the Lives of his Majesties Subjects on similar Occasions.--What think you of the following Scheme, viz. To keep the outer Doors next the Street shut, till the inner ones are opened ; and then, by a Proper bar, to prevent more than one at a Time entering, who shall there pay Entrance-money, and receive the Tickets of Admission through the inner Doors' (Public Advertiser 18 May).] Receipts: #308 1s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: "[Allegranti] in an evil hour came again to England, and reappeared in Cimarosa's Matrimonio Segreto. Never was there a more pitiable attempt: she had scarcely a thread of voice remaining, nor the power to sing a note in tune: her figure and acting were equally altered for the worse, and after a few nights she was obliged to retire, and quit the stage altogether...But she was at least remembered to have had a voice, and was looked upon only with compassion" (Mount-Edgcumbe, 39-40). "The opera of last night was also enriched by the first appearance, on any stage, of a young lady, a daughter of Signor Rovedino...She was received with the warmest applause" (Morning Chronicle, 10 Apr.)

Event Comment: Benefit the Young Persons that perform the Play. Written by Mr Otway

Event Comment: Benefit for Younger. Tickets deliver'd by Bryan and Branson will be taken. Tickets sold at doors will not be admitted. Charges #65 15s. Balance to Younger #58 10s. plus income from tickets. Younger 70 129 159 #52 15s. Bryan 4 49 61 #14 9s. Branson 26 102 134 #35 4s.@Total ticket value #102 8s. (Account Book).@ Rec'd #20 a year improv'd rent of the houses in Bow St. and part of the effects of the late John Rich...#250. Receipts: #124 5s. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Younger. Tickets deliver'd for Macbeth , by Branson and Miss Helme, will be taken. Mr Younger being oblig'd by Mr Powell's illness, to change his play of Macbeth to the above tragedy, humbly hopes for the Indulgence of his Friends and the Public in general. Charges #67 9s. Balance to Younger #18 3s. 6d. plus #48 9s. from tickets (Box 97; Pit 110; Gallery 77). [Branson and Miss Helme seem to have borne none of the charges and to have received full value for their tickets]: Branson #33 (Box 29; Pit 99; Gallery 109); Miss Helme #16 14s. (Box 1; Pit 63; Gallery 70). Receipts: #85 12s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Mr Lacy a Proprietor of this Theatre made his first appearance upon the Stage in the part of Alexander. He is very Tall, & Thin, a good Voice but His Fright took away from it's power--he was rec'ed with Applause. Mr Garrick wrote a New Occasional Prologue to introduce him, which was Spoken by Mr King & rec'ed with great Applause (Hopkins Diary). Paid 4 days list at #91 8s. 10d. per diem #365 15s. 4d.; Mr J. French on Acct #10 10s. (Treasurer's Book). [The Westminster Magazine commented on Willoughby Lacy's performance (Oct. 1774): "His performance was far from answering the expectations we had been taught to form from a friend and pupil of our English Roscius. Indeed Mr Lacy is a very young man: therefore we ought not to draw the line of our expectation. His figure is at present lank, awkward, and unengaging; his voice distinctly powerful, but inharmonious; his action outre, vulgar and forced: his attitudes unnatural, affected and disgustful; and his delivery a continued rant, without proper change, a pleasing variety, or a just discrimination of the necessary difference of tone demanded by the different passions. These...capital defects...are not unsurmountable...The play was prefaced by a new Prologue, evidently the production of Mr Garrick. It had some humor and was well received. The purport of it was to beg favor for the hero of the evening, whom it compared to a young swimmer, who had tried to float in two shallow streams, and was now about to venture himself in the great deep. This image is certainly an apt one, though, it is no great compliment to the audiences of Norwich and Birmingham."] Receipts: #248 19s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Marten and Miss Young. Charges #60. Deficit to each #14 3s. 9d., covered by income from tickets: Marten #62 17s.; Miss Young #57 2s. Advanced to Servandoni #5 5s. N.B. The Opera Rosamond cannot be performed on account of Miss Falkner's Indisposition. Receipts: #31 12s. 6d

Event Comment: Benefit for Miles, Mrs Baker, Miss Young. Tickets delivered out by Miss Ferguson will be taken. Receipts: #7 15s. 4d. covered by income from tickets. @Tickets Miles Box 15@Pit 178@Gallery 62@Value #36 13s.@Tickets Mrs Baker Box 86@Pit 124@Gallery 67@Value #46 16s.@Tickets Miss Young Box 18@Pit 75@Gallery 80@Value #23 15s.@Tickets Miss Ferguson Box 9@Pit 57@Gallery 39@Value #14 14s.@Total Box 128@Pit 434@Gallery 248@Value #121 12s.@ Paid Rich on account #21. Paid Meares 3s. [The house is now running a deficit of #371.

Event Comment: Benefit for Collins, and Younger, Prompter. Receipts: #38 8s. plus income from tickets: Collins, #51 6s. (box 26; Pit 258; Gallery 161); Younger, #55 14s. (Box 50; Pit 152; Gallery 104) (Account Book). Charges: #63 (Account Book)

Event Comment: MMiss Morris was a pupil of Mr Colman's--She was very much approved by the public in the character of Juliet. On the sixth night of her appearance on the stage she was taken ill, and died before the end of this season. See the Bill for her Benefit (Hopkins MS Notes). Afterpiece: Not acted these 6 years. [See 19 May 1762.] [The Occasional Prologue, by Colman, is Larpent MS 288, which introduces Miss Morris as Juliet, and stresses the qualms and fears of a new performer.] Receipts: #227 19s. 6d. (Account Book). Lloyd's Evening Post, 28-30 Nov.: Sir: The managers of both theatres have of late, in order to put a stop to the Public complaint against a dearth of actors, given trials to several stage candidates that seemed to have any promising requisite. Such experiments have not proved fruitless. The most brilliant and interesting of which was the young lady's appearance on Covent Garden Theatre last night, in the character of Juliet. So great was her terror, on presenting herself for the first time before a crowded audience, that, deprived of all her powers, she fell down on the stage in a swoon. The first act in consequence, was all terror on her side, all compassion and anxiety on that of the audience. But having had time between the first and second Acts to recover from her panic, she shone forth in the Balcony Scene the most pleasing promise of a young tragic actress that has been seen for half a century past, and continued so throughout. Her person is genteel, her tone of voice insinuating, variable, and melodious; her recitation is just and sensible; very affecting in the pathetic parts; condescending, free, and polite are the familiar speeches with the Nurse. She is happily devoid of all stage whine, and tragedy Cant. The manner she has been rudimented in does great honour to her instructors, who have so judiciously prevented the so excellent actor of this verily a Shakespeare's Juliet, from being sophisticated by the studied tricks, and false ornamenting of mistaken modern and degenerate art

Event Comment: Benefit for Younger. Tickets deliver'd by Miss Helme and Mr Branson will be taken. Charges #70 3s. 6d. Balance to Younger #36 10s., plus #116 3s. from tickets (Box 151; Pit 340; Gallery 274) (Account Book). Receipts: #106 13s. 6d

Event Comment: Mainpiece: Acted but once these ten years. Benefit for Younger. Tickets delivered by Miss Helme will be taken. Charges. #68 6d. Profit to Younger #37 6d. plus #65 10s. from tickets (Box 136; Pit 134; Gallery 114). Miss Helme receiv'd #12 1s. clear from her tickets (Box 5; Pit 42; Gallery 45) (Account Book). Receipts: #105 6s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Benefit for Younger. Tickets deliver'd by Miss Helme will be taken. Tomorrow (the Eight Time) the New Comedy She Stoops to Conquor, with (for the last time this season) The Golden Pippin. Charges #71 16s. 6d.; Profit to Younger #74 13s., plus #65 19s. from tickets (Box 116; Pit 149; Gallery 146) (Account Book). Receipts: #146 9s. 6d

Event Comment: Mr G. very fine in Hastings Miss Young's first appearance in Alicia pretty well She was a little too Mad Mrs Canning a Widow made her first appearance upon the Stage in Jane Shore a Small mean figure very little power (very So, So.) great applause (Hopkins Diary). [MacMillan's note from Kemble differs slightly in wording.] Rec'd Stopages #30 5s. 6d.; Paid Salary list #522 18s.; Mr King 6 nights extra salary #3; Mr Johnston's Music Bill for Alfred, &c. #19 16s. 9d.; Mr Baddeley on note per Mr. G G #21. Receipts: #267 11s. (Treasurer's Book)

Event Comment: The Duke's Company. Pepys, Diary, 20 Oct.: Young Killigrew did so commend The Villaine, a new play made by Tom Porter, and acted only on Saturday at the Duke's house, as if there never had been any such play come upon the stage. The same yesterday was told me by Captain Ferrers; and this morning afterwards by Dr Clerke, who saw it. Downes, p. 23: Written by Major Thomas Porter; this Play by its being well perform'd, had Success extremly beyond the Company's Expectation....It Succeeded 10 Days with a full House, to the last. [Downes especially praises Price. The edition of 1663 has a Prologue but no actors' names and no epilogue.

Event Comment: The Duke's Company. Pepys, Diary: To the Duke of York's house, thinking as we appointed, to meet my wife there, but she was not; and more, I was vexed to see Young (who is but a bad actor at best) act Macbeth in the room of Betterton, who, poor man! is sick: but, Lord! what a prejudice it wrought in me against the whole play, and everybody else agreed in disliking this fellow. Thence home, and there find my wife gone home; because of this fellow's acting of the part, she went out of the house again

Event Comment: Rich's Company. The date of the premiere is not known, but Cibber (see below) states that it was acted in January; the Dedication was signed 7 Feb. 1695@6, and the play was advertised in the London Gazette, No 3157, 10-13 Feb. 1695@6. Two songs were published separately: Go home, unhappy wench, set by Francks and sung by Mrs Cross and the Boy (in Thesaurus Musicus, The Fifth Book, 1696) and What an ungratefull devil moves you, set by Daniel Purcell (in Deliciae Musicae, The First Book of the Second Volume, 1696). A separately-printed sheet of the second song states that it was sung by "The Boy", Cibber, Apology, I, 212-14: The next Year I produc'd the Comedy of Love's last Shift; yet the Difficulty of getting it to the Stage was not easily surmounted; for, at that time, as little was expected from me, as an Author, as had been from my Pretensions to be an Actor. However, Mr Southern, the Author of Oroonoko, having had the Patience to hear me read it to him, happened to like it so well that he immediately recommended it to the Patentees, and it was accordingly acted in January 1695 [i.e., 1695@6]. In this Play I gave myself the Part of Sir Novelty, which was thought a good Portrait of the Foppery then in fashion. Here, too, Mr Southern, though he had approv'd my approv'd my Play, came into the common Diffidence of me as an Actor: For, when on the first Day of it I was standing, myself, to prompt the Prologue, he took me by the Hand and said, Young Man! I pronounce they Play a good one; I will answer for its Success, if thou dost not spoil it by thy own Action....I succeeded so well in both, that People seem'd at a loss which they should give the Preference to. A Comparison Between the Two Stages (1702), p. 16: Ramble: Ay, marry, that Play was the Philosopher's Stone; I think it did wonders. Sullen: It did so, and very deservedly; there being few Comedies that came up to 't for purity of Plot, Manners and Moral: It's often acted now a daies, and by the help of the Author's own good action, it pleases to this Day