''The Different Widows'' is a 1703

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

by the British writer

Mary Pix Mary Pix (1666 – 17 May 1709) was an English novelist and playwright. As an admirer of Aphra Behn and colleague of Susanna Centlivre, Pix has been called "a link between women writers of the Stuart Restoration, Restoration and Augustan litera ...

.Nicoll p.350 It premiered at the

Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre Lisle's Tennis Court was a building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, ...

in London. The original cast included George Powell as Sir James Belmont, John Corey as Careless, George Pack as Sir Anthony Loveman, Francis Leigh as Dandle,

Barton Booth Barton Booth (168210 May 1733) was one of the most famous British dramatic actors of the first part of the 18th century. Early life Booth was the son of The Hon and Very Revd Dr Robert Booth, Dean of Bristol, by his first wife and distant co ...

as Valentine,

Elinor Leigh Elinor Leigh was a British stage actor of the seventeenth century. Born Elinor Dixon, she was billed as Mrs Leigh or Mrs Lee after she married the actor Anthony Leigh in 1671. This has led to some difficulty distinguishing on playbills between he ...

as Widow Bellmont, Mary Porter as Lady Loveman,

Elizabeth Willis Elizabeth Willis (born April 28, 1961, Bahrain) is an American poet and literary critic. She currently serves as Professor of Poetry at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Willis has won several awards for her poetry including the National Poetry Serie ...

as Lady Courtall and

Lucretia Bradshaw Lucretia Bradshaw (fl. 1714 - 1741) was an English actress. She was often billed as Mrs. Bradshaw. In Thomas Betterton's 1741 ''A History of the English Stage'', it is stated that: She declared herself to have learned from Elizabeth Barry: "t ...

as Mariana.

References

Bibliography

* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''History of English Drama, 1660-1900, Volume 2''. Cambridge University Press, 2009. 1703 plays West End plays Comedy plays Plays by Mary Pix {{18thC-play-stub