''Duplicity'' is a 1781
comedy play
Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endi ...
by the British writer
Thomas Holcroft
Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet, novelist and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Ri ...
.
The original
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
cast included
John Henderson as Mr Osborne,
William Thomas Lewis
William Thomas Lewis (c.1748–1811), known as "Gentleman" Lewis, due to his refined acting style, was an English actor. Raised in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, he made his name on the Dublin stage before moving to the Theatre Royal, Covent Gard ...
as Sir Harry Portland,
Richard Wilson as Sir Hornet Armstrong,
Charles Lee Lewes
Charles Lee Lewes (1740 – 13 July 1803) was an English actor.
Biography
He was born the son of a hosier in London. After attending a school at Ambleside he returned to London, where he found employment as a postman. In about 1760 he went on th ...
as Squire Turnbull,
John Edwin as Timid,
Ralph Wewitzer
Ralph Wewitzer (1748–1825) was an English actor. He won critical acclaim in supporting parts, but was never given leading roles. He had a 44-year acting career, and is thought to have learned over 400 speaking parts.
Early roles at Covent Garde ...
as Mr Vandervelt,
William Stevens as Scrip,
Sarah Maria Wilson
Sarah Maria Wilson (died 1786) was an English actress.
Early life
Her maiden name was Adcock. She acted in York, where, as Mrs. Weston, in the summer of 1773 she played Lucy Lockit in the ''Beggar's Opera'', Miss Notable in the 'Lady's Last Stake ...
as Miss Turnbull,
Elizabeth Inchbald
Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson, 15 October 1753 – 1 August 1821) was an English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator. Her two novels, '' A Simple Story'' and '' Nature and Art'', have received particular critical attention.
Life
B ...
as Melissa,
Ann Pitt as Mrs Trip and
Elizabeth Younge
Elizabeth Younge (1740 – 15 March 1797)Her epitaph in Westminster Abbey states that she died at the age of 52 but ''The New Monthly Magazine'' which gave her d.o.b. as 1940 wrote, "How this error in her age arose there is no possibility of e ...
as Clara.
[Hogan p.466]
References
Bibliography
* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660–1900: Volume III''. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
* Hogan, C.B (ed.) ''The London Stage, 1660–1800: Volume V''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968.
1781 plays
Comedy plays
West End plays
Plays by Thomas Holcroft
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