''The Reprisal; or, The Tars of Old England'' is a 1757

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

Tobias Smollett Tobias George Smollett (bapt. 19 March 1721 – 17 September 1771) was a Scottish writer and surgeon. He was best known for writing picaresque novels such as ''The Adventures of Roderick Random'' (1748), ''The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'' ...

. An

afterpiece An afterpiece is a short, usually humorous one-act playlet or musical work following the main attraction, the full-length play, and concluding the theatrical evening.p24 "The Chambers Dictionary"Edinburgh, Chambers, 2003 This short comedy, farce ...

, it was first performed 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 ...

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 ...

and produced by

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 ...

. The cast included Howard Usher as Heartley, John Palmer as Brush, Richard Yates as Oclabber, Henry Woodward as Block, Maria Macklin as Harriet. It marked Smollett's last attempt to write for the stage, as several projects had fallen through and his 1749 tragedy ''The Regicide'' remained published but unperformed. It was revived in 1784 at the Haymarket.Hogan p.683

References

Bibliography

* Jones, Richard J. ''Tobias Smollett in the Enlightenment: Travels through France, Italy, and Scotland''. Bucknell University Press, 2011. * 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. 1757 plays Comedy plays West End plays Plays by Tobias Smollett {{18thC-play-stub