A new piece for our Occasional Essays series:

On 16 February 1719, playgoers at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket witnessed an event which is probably unique in the annals of Anglo-French theatre history: the premiere of a comedy performed, in French, by a company of French actors: Arlequin Balourd

This latest addition to our series of Occasional Essays is written by Robert Kenny, who received STR Research Grants towards his work on the actor-manager François Moylin, known as Francisque, who also played the Arlequin of the title.

Read his article here

If you would like to contribute to this series, to celebrate an anniversary or explore material that is best suited to dissemination on the web, then please contact Trevor Griffiths at theatrenotebook@str.org.uk for further guidance.