''Regulus'' is a 1744

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 William Havard. It portrays the career of

Marcus Atilius Regulus Marcus Atilius Regulus () was a Roman statesman and general who was a consul of the Roman Republic in 267 BC and 256 BC. Much of his career was spent fighting the Carthaginians during the first Punic War. In 256 BC, he and Lucius ...

, a

Roman Consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

at the time of the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

. It ran for seven performances during the season.Highfill, Burnim & Langhans p.186 The original

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

cast included

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 ...

as Regulus, Havard himself as Decius,

Dennis Delane Dennis Delane (died April 1750) was an Irish stage actor who appeared for many years at the leading London theatres. Beginnings in Dublin Delane was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and originally intended to become a lawyer.Highfill, Burni ...

as Corvus, William Mills as Metullus,

Edward Berry Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Berry, 1st Baronet, KCB (17 April 1768 – 13 February 1831) was a British Royal Navy officer primarily known for his role as flag captain of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson's ship HMS ''Vanguard'' at the Battle of the Ni ...

as Manlius, James Taswell as Attilus Regulus, Edward Woodburn as Emelius, Howard Usher as Second Ambassador, Anne Budgell as Clelia and Anna Marcella Giffard as Martia.

References

Bibliography

* Baines, Paul & Ferarro, Julian & Rogers, Pat. ''The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Eighteenth-Century Writers and Writing, 1660-1789''. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. * Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800: Garrick to Gyngell''. SIU Press, 1978. 1744 plays Plays by William Havard Tragedy plays West End plays Plays set in the Roman Republic {{1740s-play-stub