Plays

F.D. Waldron, The Virgin Queen, a Drama in Five Acts; Attempted as a Sequel to Shakspeare’s Tempest.

Printed for the Author, 1797

Waldron (bap. 1743, d. 1818) was a fairly successful actor whose performed plays never achieved much praise or a long run.  The Virgin Queen, published during the height of controversy over William Henry Ireland’s forgeries of Shakespeare, was never performed. 

From The Tempest

Colley Cibber, Love’s Last Shift (1696).

This play introduced Amanda and Loveless, the characters in Vanbrugh’s The Relapse, as well as the popular Sir Novelty Fashion who becomes ennobled in the later play as Lord Foppington.

From The Relapse

The Exploits of Harlequin, London, 1724.

This excerpt from yet another representation of the Faustus Harlequinades includes an absurd conversation between the Ass, the Owl, a Windmill, and the Dragon, all of which were stock figures in the series. The scene, which sets up Harlequin’s first entry on to the stage, represents his fateful signing of the contract in farcical terms. When the Devil promises him all the “Whores of the Universe,” Harlequin Faustus agrees immediately. The scene also depends on exchanges reminiscent of the commedia lazzi, dances, and songs.

From The Necromancer, or Harlequin Doctor Faustus and Harlequin Doctor