''Speculation'' is a 1795

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 British writer Frederick Reynolds. It premiered at the

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden 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 ...

on 7 November 1795. 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 Tanjore, John Quick as Alderman Arable,

Joseph Shepherd Munden Joseph Shepherd Munden (1758 – 6 February 1832) was an English actor. He had a long provincial experience as actor and manager. His first London appearance was in 1790 at Covent Garden, where he mostly remained until 1811, becoming a leadi ...

as Project, John Fawcett as Jack Arable, James Middleton as Captain Arable,

William Claremont William Claremont (died 1832) was a British stage actor who spent many years in the companies of the leading London theatres at Covent Garden, Haymarket and Drury Lane. He was born William Cleaver in London as the son of a shop assistant and a d ...

as Sir Fred Faintly, Charles Farley as Vickery, Mary Ann Davenport as Lady Project and Tryphosa Jane Wallis as Emmeline. The Irish premiere took place at the

Crow Street Theatre Crow Street Theatre was a theatre in Dublin, Ireland, originally opened in 1758 by the actor Spranger Barry. From 1788 until 1818 it was a patent theatre. History Spranger Barry and Henry Woodward The actor Spranger Barry (1719–1777), born ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 22 February 1796.Greene p.4503

References

Bibliography

* Greene, John C. ''Theatre in Dublin, 1745-1820: A Calendar of Performances, Volume 6''. Lexington Books, 2011. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of English Drama 1660–1900: Volume IV''. Cambridge University Press, 2009. 1795 plays British comedy plays West End plays Plays by Frederic Reynolds Plays set in London {{18thC-play-stub