''Sir Barnaby Whigg; Or, No Wit Like A Womans'' is a 1681

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 English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It was first staged by the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure 1642, London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 166 ...

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 ...

. A song for the play was composed by

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 original cast included Thomas Clark as Wilding, Cardell Goodman as Townly,

Philip Griffin Philip Griffin was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century and early eighteenth century. He joined the King's Company at Drury Lane during the 1670s, and was later a member of the merged United Company from 1685. He was named as a manage ...

as Porpuss,

Martin Powell Martin Powell is an English musician. In 1991, Powell auditioned for the position of bass player in the band My Dying Bride, but was turned down as the band had just filled the position. Upon informing the band he was also a violin and keyboa ...

as Whigg,

John Coysh John Coysh was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was a member of the King's Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He first headed a nursery of young actors at Hatton Garden, including the future star Sarah Cooke. H ...

as Swift,

Carey Perin Carey Perin (occasionally written as Perrin) was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was a long-standing member of the King's Company based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.Wilson p.23 He then joined the merged United Company in ...

as Benedick, Mary Corbett as Gratiana, Sarah Cooke as Livia and

Susanna Percival Susanna Verbruggen (née Percival) (–1703), aka Susanna Mountfort, was an English actress working in London. Life She was the daughter of Thomas Percival, a member of the Duke's Company for more than a decade. Her first recorded stage appear ...

as Winifred.Van Lennep p.302 The published version was dedicated to the politician Lord Berkeley.

References

Bibliography

* McVeagh, John. ''Thomas Durfey and Restoration Drama: The Work of a Forgotten Writer''. Routledge, 2017. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1681 plays West End plays Plays by Thomas d'Urfey Restoration comedy {{17thC-play-stub