Зображення сторінки
PDF
ePub

per

7. The Minor, a comedy of three acts, 8vo. 1760. This piece was firft reprefented in the fummer season, at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket; and though it was performed by an entirely young and unexperienced company, it brought full houses for thirty-eight nights in that time of the year. As the principal merit of all our anthor's writings confifts in the drawing of peculiar characters well known in real life, which he heightened by his own manner of fonating the originals on the ftage, it will be neceffary to inform pofterity, that in the characters of Mrs. Cole and Mr. Smirk, the author reprefented thofe of the celebrated Mother Douglas, and Mr. Langford, the auctioneer; and that in the conclufion, or rather epilogue to the piece, fpoken by Shift, which the author performed together with the other two characters, he took off, to a great degree of exactness, the manner and even perfon of that noted preacher, and chief of the Methodifts, Mr. George Whitefield. Indeed, fo happy was the fuccefs of this pièce, in one respect, that it seemed more effectually to open our eyes, thofe of the populace efpecially, in regard to the abfurdities of that fet of enthufiafts, than all the more ferious writings that had ever been publifhed against them.

8. The Lyar, a comedy of three acts, 8vo. 1764. This comedy was originally intended to have been performed during the fummer partnership between Mr. Murphy and the author; but the run of those pieces they had before brought on, and the unexpected neceffity of playing the Wishes, having exhaufted the time limitted for their representation, this was obliged to be deferred till the enfuing winter, when it was reprefented, for the firft time, at the theatre in Co. vent-Garden. Its fuccefs was very indifferent; and indeed it must be confeffed, that it was in itself far from equal to the generality of our author's works. Though there were here and there fome ftrokes of humour in it, which were not unworthy of their author, and fome few touches of temporary fatire, yet the character of the Lyar had certainly neither native originality enough in it to please as a novelty, nor additional beauties fufficient either in his dress or demeanour, to excite a fresh attention to him as a new acquaintance. In fhort, on the whole, it was rather tedious and unentertaining, having neither enough of the vis comica to keep up the attention of an audience through fo many acts as a farce, nor a fufficiency of incident and fentiment to engage their hearts, if confidered under the denomination of a comedy, yet it has fince been often acted as a farce.

[blocks in formation]

9. The Orators, a comedy of three acts, 8vo. 1762. This piece, which met with very good fuccefs, was performed at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket, in the middle of the day, during fome part of the fummer of 1762. Our author has thrown into the defign of this piece a great variety of characters, fome of which have been fuppofed to be drawn from real life, particularly one of a late printer of Ireland, who, with all the difadvantages of age, perfon, and addrefs, and even the deficiency of a leg, was perpetually giving himself airs of the greatest importance, continually repeating flories of his wit, and boafting of being a favourite of the fair fex. Such a character is furely a genuine object of ridicule, and the stage seems to demand it as a facrifice at the fhrine of common fenfe.

10. The Mayor of Garrat, a comedy of two acts, performed at the theatre in the Haymarket in 1763, and printed in 8vo. in 1769. In this very humorous and entertaining piece, the character of Major Sturgeon, a city militia officer, is entirely new, highly wrought up, and was performed in a moft capital ftile by Mr. Foote himself.

11. The Patron, a comedy of three acts, performed at the Haymarket in 1764. The hint is borrowed

borrowed from one of Marmontel's Tales. The character of the Patron, faid to be Lord Melcombe, is that of a fuperficial pretender to wit and learning, who, being a man of fashion and fortune, affords his countenance and protection to a fet of contemptible writings, for the fake of the incenfe offered by them to his vanity. The character of a mere antiquarian, a favourite object of ridicule with Mr. Foote, is here introduced with great pleasantry, Mr. Ruft having fallen in love with a fine young lady, because he thought the tip of her ear refembled the Princefs Popca. Sir Peter Pepperpot, a rich Weft India merchant, comes in likewife, with his account of barbecues and turtle feafts; and a miferable poct, with a low Moorfields book feller, ferve to complete the entertainment.

12. The Commiffary, a comedy, acted with great fuccefs, at the Haymarket in 1765. Among other real characters drawn from life, the late celebrated Dr. Arne was ridiculed in this comedy.

13. Prelude on opening the Theatre, 1767.

14. The Devil upon two Sticks, a comedy, acted at the Haymarket in. 1768, printed in 8vo. in 1778. This was one of the moft fuccefsful' of our author's performances; but though it abounds with wit, humour, and fatire of the most pleasant

[blocks in formation]

and inoffenfive kind, yet it seems to have loft its exiftence with its parent.

15. The Lame Lover, a comedy, acted at the Haymarket in 1770. Though this piece was by no means inferior to any other of his writing, yet it did not meet with the deferved fuccefs. Sir Luke Limp, the Serjeant, and his fon, are admirably drawn characters.

[ocr errors]

16. The Maid of Bath, a comedy, acted at the Haymarket in 1771, and printed in 8vo. in 1778. The ground-work of this very interefting performance is taken from a tranfaction which happened at Bath, in which a perfon of fortunel was faid to have treated a young lady celebrated for her mufical talents in a very ungenerous manner. The delinquent is here held up to ridicule under the name of Hint, and it will be difficult to point out a character drawn with more truth and accuracy than this, efpecially in the fecond act. The parts of Lady Catherine Coldstream, Sir Chriftopher Cripple, and Billy Button, are all highly finifhed, and render this piece one of the most pleasing of all our author wrote.

17. The Nabob, a comedy, acted at the Haymarket in 1772, and printed in 8vo. in 1778. This piece is a fevere fatire on the greater part

of

« НазадПродовжити »