''Hurlothrumbo; or, The super-natural'' is an 18th-century English nonsense play written by the

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its reperto ...

-master Samuel Johnson of Cheshire, and published in 1729. The spectacle incorporates both musical and spoken elements. The play opened on March 29, 1729 at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

. Writing in 1855, Frederick Lawrence says of the play:Lawrence, Frederick. 1855 ''The life of Henry Fielding'' (A. Hall, Virtue & Co.) The author himself performed as a principal in the play, with singing, dancing, playing fiddle, and walking on

stilts Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground. In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...

. The novelist and playwright

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

mentions the play in his novel '' Tom Jones'':

Namesakes

A significant early collection of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

was published under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Hurlothrumbo in 1731. The book, titled ''The Merry-Thought: or, the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany'', transcribes graffiti found in public latrines in England, much of it humorous or sexual. The volume may have been attributed to Hurlothrumbo by the publisher or editor to benefit from the popularity of Johnson's play. ''Hurlothrumbo'' is saidWelcome to Hurlothrumbo.com History Lesson
Retrieved 27 July 2021. to have been the name of the steamship on which Emperor Norton came to San Francisco. Norton then went into partnership with the ship's engineer to use the engine from the scrapped ship to power equipment for gold mining camps, an apparatus also called Hurlothrumbo.

Notes

External links

Scanned copy of the 1729 printing of ''Hurlothrumbo''
* ; the introduction includes a discussion of ''Hurlothrumbo''.

Readable online or can be downloaded in various formats. 1729 plays {{18thC-play-stub