''Percy'' is a 1777

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

by the British writer

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet, and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at ...

. It was inspired by the French play ''Gabrielle de Vergy'' by Pierre-Laurent Buirette de Belloy. The play premiered at the

Covent Garden Theatre 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 ...

. The original 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 Percy,

Francis Aickin Francis Aickin (died 1805), was an Irish actor, who worked at the Edinburgh Theatre in Scotland, and the between 1765 and 1792 in theatres in the West End of London. Francis Aickin first appeared in London in 1765 as Dick Amlet in John Vanbr ...

as Earl Raby, Thomas Hull as Sir Hubert, John Whitfield as Edric, Thomas Robson as Harcourt, James Thompson as Servant,

Richard Wroughton Richard Wroughton (1748–1822), was an actor, who worked mainly in Covent Garden (now the Royal Opera house) and Drury Lane (now the Theatre Royal), and occasionally in the city of his birth, Bath. Acting at Covent Garden He was born in 1748 ...

as Earl Douglas and

Ann Street Barry Ann Street Barry aka Ann Dancer later Ann Crawford (1734 – 29 November 1801), was a British singer, dancer and stage actress. Life Barry was born in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England, to an apothecary named James Street. Her brother, William Stree ...

as Elwina.

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

wrote both the

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

and

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the ...

.Hogan p.133

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. 1777 plays Tragedy plays West End plays Plays by Hannah More {{18thC-play-stub