Articles

1. John Rich: The Beggar's Opera and the Origins of Covent Garden Theatre

   Terry Jenkins

   In 1759, John Rich, manager of Covent Garden theatre, was taken to court
   by Sir Thomas George Skipwith and his brother Francis William
   Skipwith. Their grievance reveals an answer to the unresolved question
   of what happened to the profits from John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera when it
   was first performed in 1728, and sheds new light on Rich’s financial
   management of the two theatres with which he was associated: Lincoln’s Inn
   Fields and Covent Garden. As far as I am aware, the substance of their
   complaint has been hitherto unknown to theatre scholars.

   It is a sad fact that the website of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden begins its description of the origins of the theatre by stating: “Actor-manager John Rich built the first Theatre Royal, Covent Garden with the fortune he had made from the huge success of The Beggar’s Opera” (Royal Opera House). This is one of those theatrical myths that stubbornly refuses to die. It is simply not true. Moreover it has been known to be untrue for well over a hundred years. Rich’s Proposals for the theatre, and a list of the subscribers, were described as early as 1906 by Henry Saxe-Wyndham in The Annals of Covent Garden Theatre from 1732 to 1897. Robert D. Hume railed at the allegations […]

2. Travels, Travesti and Ellen Tree: The Unexpected Performance History of Talfourd’s Ion

   Christopher Butcher

   In two previous articles in Theatre Notebook I have explored the sources of the enormous success enjoyed by Thomas Noon Talfourd’s tragedy Ion at its first performances in London in 1836. I have attributed this success in part to the extensive publicity which had been given to Talfourd’s drama before it appeared on the stage, and to the talents of and interest, and scandal, attaching to William Macready, who had appeared in the first production of the play. This article considers its subsequent performance history, which developed in ways which could scarcely have been predicted.

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