''Tom Essence; Or, The Modish Wife'' is a 1676 comedy play by Thomas Rawlins, sometimes also attributed to

Edward Ravenscroft Edward Ravenscroft ( – 1707) was an English dramatist who belonged to an ancient Flintshire family. He was entered at the Middle Temple, but devoted his attention mainly to literature. Ravenscroft was the first critic to posit that Shakesp ...

. It was first performed at the

Dorset Garden Theatre The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Du ...

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 ...

by the

Duke's Company The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During that period, theatres ...

. Along with

Thomas Otway Thomas Otway (3 March 165214 April 1685) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for '' Venice Preserv'd'', or ''A Plot Discover'd'' (1682). Life Otway was born at Trotton near Midhurst, the parish of which his father ...

's '' The Soldier's Fortune,'' it incorporated scenes from

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

's ''

The Imaginary Cuckold ''Sganarelle, or The Imaginary Cuckold'' () is a one-act comedy in verse by Molière. It was first performed on 28 May 1660 at the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon in Paris to great success. Molière himself played the role of Sganarelle at the premier ...

'' in an otherwise unrelated plot. The original Dorset Gardens cast included

Anthony Leigh Anthony Leigh (died 1692) was a celebrated English comic actor. Life He was from a Northamptonshire family, and was not closely related to the actor John Leigh (18th-century actor), John Leigh (c.1689–1726?). He joined the Duke of York's comp ...

as Tom Essence, Thomas Percival (actor), Thomas Percival as Old Monylove, John Crosby (actor), John Crosby as Courtly, Henry Norris (actor), Henry Norris as Loveall, Thomas Gillow as Stanly, John Richards (actor), John Richards as Laurence, Margaret Hughes as Mrs. Monylove, Elizabeth Barry as Theodocia, Margaret Osborne (actress), Margaret Osborne as Luce, and Anne Shadwell as Mrs. Essence.Van Lennep p.246

References

Bibliography

* Hughes, Leo. ''Century of English Farce''. Princeton University Press, 2015. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660–1800: Volume One, 1660–1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1676 plays West End plays Restoration comedy Plays set in London Plays based on works by Molière {{17thC-play-stub