''Masks and Faces'' is a British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

comedy play written by

Charles Reade Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for '' The Cloister and the Hearth''. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring, and had at leas ...

and

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...

which was first performed in 1852. It features the Irish actress Peg Woffington (1720-1760) as a major character. It proved popular, earning the writers £150.Sutherland p.530 The following year, to capitalize on the play's success Reade wrote a novel '' Peg Woffington'' which was also a major hit.

Adaptations

The play and the subsequent novel provided inspiration for a number of films, mostly made during the silent era. These included '' Peg Woffington'' (1912), ''

Masks and Faces ''Masks and Faces'' is a 1917 British silent biographical film directed by Fred Paul and starring Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Irene Vanbrugh and Henry S. Irving. The film depicts episodes from the life of the eighteenth-century Irish actress P ...

'' (1917) and ''

Peg of Old Drury ''Peg of Old Drury'' is a 1935 British historical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke and Margaretta Scott. The film is a biopic of eighteenth-century Irish actress Peg Woffington. It was based on the play ' ...

'' (1935).

References

Bibliography

* Sutherland, John. ''The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction''. Routledge, 2014. 1852 plays British plays adapted into films Plays set in England Plays by Charles Reade Broadway plays {{1850s-play-stub