''Life'' is an 1800

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 Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 1 November 1800. The Irish premiere took place at the

Crow Street Theatre Crow Street Theatre was a theatre in Dublin, Ireland, originally opened in 1758 by the actor Spranger Barry. From 1788 until 1818 it was a patent theatre. History Spranger Barry and Henry Woodward The actor Spranger Barry (1719–1777), born ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 20 January 1801. The original Covent Garden cast included

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 Torpid,

Joseph Shepherd Munden Joseph Shepherd Munden (1758 – 6 February 1832) was an English actor. He had a long provincial experience as actor and manager. His first London appearance was in 1790 at Covent Garden, where he mostly remained until 1811, becoming a leadi ...

as Paul Primitive, John Fawcett as Lackbrain, John Emery as Crafty, Charles Farley as Jack Clifford, Charles Murray as Marchmont, Frances Chapman as Mrs Belford, Catherine St Ledger as Mrs Decoy and

Harriet Siddons Harriet Siddons (née Murray; 16 April 1783 2 November 1844), sometimes known as Mrs Henry Siddons, was a Scottish actress and theatre manager. Edinburgh referred to her as "Our" Mrs Siddons to distinguish her from her English mother-in-law ...

as Rosa Marchmont.''The European Magazine, and London Review, Volume 38''. Philological Society of London, 1800. p.365

References

Bibliography

* Greene, John C. ''Theatre in Dublin, 1745-1820: A Calendar of Performances, Volume 6''. Lexington Books, 2011. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660–1900: Volume IV''. Cambridge University Press, 2009. 1800 plays British comedy plays West End plays Plays by Frederic Reynolds Plays set in England {{18thC-play-stub