''The School for Friends'' is an 1805

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

Marianne Chambers Marianne Chambers (fl. 1799-1811 or 1812) was an English playwright. In 1799 she published a novel, ''He Deceives Himself: A Domestic Tale'' in three volumes, which was favourably reviewed in ''The Gentleman's Magazine'': "in its perusal we have ...

. It premiered 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 ...

on 10 December 1805. The Drury Lane cast featured

Robert William Elliston Robert William Elliston (7 April 1774 – 7 July 1831) was an English actor and theatre manager. Life He was born in London, the son of a watchmaker. He was educated at St Paul's School, but ran away from home and made his first appearance on ...

as Lord Belmour, Richard Wroughton as Sir Felix Mordant, William Barrymore as Sir Edward Epworth, William Dowton as Mr. Hardy,

Charles Mathews Charles Mathews (28 June 1776, London – 28 June 1835, Devonport) was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well known during his time for his gift of impersonation and skill at table entertainment. His play ''At Home'', in which he pl ...

as Matthew Daw, Walter Maddocks as Landlord, Jane Pope as Lady Courtland,

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan (née Bland; 22 November 17615 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time partner of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), and the mother of 10 illegitimate children ...

as Mrs. Hamilton,

Harriet Siddons Harriet Siddons (née Murray; 16 April 1783 2 November 1844), sometimes known as Mrs Henry Siddons, was a Scottish actress and theatre manager. Edinburgh referred to her as "Our" Mrs Siddons to distinguish her from her English mother-in-law ...

as Miss Emily, Harriet Mellon as Lucy and Charlotte Tidswell as Sarah. The

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

was written by James Kenney. It appeared for 25 performances on its initial run.Genest p.702-03

References

Bibliography

* Genest, John. ''Some Account of the English Stage: From the Restoration in 1660 to 1830, Volume 8''. H.E. Carrington, 1832. * Greene, John C. ''Theatre in Dublin, 1745-1820: A Calendar of Performances, Volume 7''. Lexington Books, 2011. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Nineteenth Century Drama 1800-1850''. Cambridge University Press, 1930. * Tomalin, Claire . ''Mrs Jordan's Profession: The Story of a Great Actress and a Future King''. Penguin, 2003. 1805 plays West End plays British plays Comedy plays {{19thC-play-stub