''Love Triumphant; Or, Nature Will Prevail'' is a 1694

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

by the English writer

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

. It was Dryden's final stage play. It was originally staged by the

United Company The United Company was a London theatre company formed in 1682 with the merger of the King's Company and the Duke's Company. Both the Duke's and King's Companies suffered poor attendance during the turmoil of the Popish Plot period, 1678–8 ...

at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

. The first cast included

Thomas Betterton Thomas Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710) was the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England. He was the son of an under-cook to King Charles I and was born in London. Apprentice and actor Betterton was born in ...

as Alphonso,

Edward Kynaston Edward Kynaston may refer to: *Edward Kynaston (actor) Edward Kynaston (c. 1640 – January 1706) was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players", young male actors who played women's roles. Career Kynaston was good looking ...

as Veramond, Joseph Williams as Garcia,

John Verbruggen John Baptista Verbruggen, d. 1708, was an English actor working in London. Verbruggen is first mentioned as a member of the United Company in a Lord Chamberlain's warrant in 1688. His name does not appear in any cast lists until October 1690. Th ...

as Ramirez,

Thomas Doggett Thomas Doggett (or Dogget; 20 September 1721) was an Irish actor. The birth date of 1640 seems unlikely. A more probable date of 1670 is given in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Biography Born in Dublin, he made his first stage appearance in Lon ...

as Sancho, George Powell as Carlos,

Cave Underhill Cave Underhill (1634–1710?) was an English actor in comedy roles. Underhill entertained three generations of London theatre-goers. For over 40 years, as a member of the Duke's Company, Underhill played the first Gravedigger in ''Hamlet''. He ...

as Lopez,

Mary Betterton Mary Saunderson (1637–1712), later known as Mary Saunderson Betterton after her marriage to Thomas Betterton, was an actress and singer in England during the 1660s and 1690s. She is considered one of the first English actresses. Stage career ...

as Ximena,

Elizabeth Barry Elizabeth Barry (1658 – 7 November 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period. Elizabeth Barry's biggest influence on Restoration drama was her presentation of performing as the tragic actress. She worked in large, prestigious ...

as Victoria,

Anne Bracegirdle Anne Bracegirdle (possibly 167112 September 1748) was an English actress and soprano. Most of the plays she performed in involved singing as well as acting. She often performed music written for her by the composer John Eccles, and also sung mu ...

as Celidea,

Susanna Mountfort Susanna Mountfort (1690-1720) was a British stage actress. She was the daughter of the actors William Mountfort and his wife Susanna Mountfort. In 1692 her father was killed in a duel and her mother remarried and became known as Susanna Verbrug ...

as Dalinda and

Mary Kent Mary Kent (before 1692 – after 1718) was an English actress, whose career lasted from 1692 to 1718. Her dates of birth and death are not known. She was the wife of Drury Lane actor Thomas Kent. Career Mary Kent appeared in many playbills fr ...

as Nurse.Van Lennep p.431

Incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

was provided by John Eccles and

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

. The published version of the play was dedicated to

Earl of Salisbury Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury. Background The title was first created for Patrick de Sa ...

, who shared Jacobite sympathies with Dryden. It was printed by the publisher

Jacob Tonson Jacob Tonson, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the Elder (12 November 1655 – 17 March 1736), was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher. Tonson published editions of John Dryden and John Milton, and is best known for hav ...

who secured exclusive rights to Dryden's work late in the writer's career.

References

Bibliography

* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''History of English Drama, 1660-1900: Volume 1, Restoration Drama, 1660-1700''. Cambridge University Press, 1952. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1694 plays West End plays Tragedy plays Plays by John Dryden {{17thC-play-stub