The Force of Ridicule is a 1796 comedy play by the British writer Thomas Holcroft.[2]

The Force of Ridicule
Written byThomas Holcroft
Date premiered6 December 1796[1]
Place premieredTheatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Original languageEnglish
GenreComedy

The original Drury Lane cast included John Palmer, William Barrymore, Richard Suett, Robert Palmer, Charles Kemble, John Bannister, Maria Theresa Kemble and Elizabeth Farren.[3]

According to James Boaden, the play was "perdurably damned” after its opening night and never performed again. The manuscript of the play was never published and its sources were only hinted at in Biographica Dramatica, where it was mentioned that it was believed to have been derived from French.[4] The failure of the play was seen as so great, Holcroft did not attempt any further playwriting for another two years.

References edit

  1. ^ Hogan p.1920
  2. ^ Nicoll p.271
  3. ^ Hogan p.1920
  4. ^ Stallbaumer, Virgil R. (1936). "Thomas Holcroft: A Satirist in the Stream of Sentimentalism". ELH. 3 (1): 31–62. doi:10.2307/2871656. ISSN 0013-8304.

Bibliography edit

  • Nicoll, Allardyce. A History of English Drama 1660–1900: Volume III. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  • Hogan, C.B (ed.) The London Stage, 1660–1800: Volume V. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968.