Sheridan, Richard Brinsley.

The Critic or A Tragedy Rehearsed. A Farcical Comedy in Three Acts.

London / Edinburgh, Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., No Date (c.1931). 11.5 cm x 16.5 cm. VIII, 72 pages. Original illustrated softcover. Good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Slight discolouration and foxing to endpapers and covers. Crease marks evident on several pages. Crack to the bonding evident on title page but book block and cover very much intact. [The Nelson Playbooks Edited by John Hampdon, M.A. (No.105)]

The Critic: or, a Tragedy Rehearsed is a satire by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first staged at Drury Lane Theatre in 1779. It is a burlesque on stage acting and play production conventions, and Sheridan considered the first act to be his finest piece of writing. One of its major roles, Sir Fretful Plagiary, is a comment on the vanity of authors, and in particular a caricature of the dramatist Richard Cumberland who was a contemporary of Sheridan.

Based on George Villiers’ The Rehearsal, it concerns misadventures that arise when an author, Mr Puff, invites Sir Fretful Plagiary and the theatre critics Dangle and Sneer to a rehearsal of his play The Spanish Armada, Sheridan’s parody of the then-fashionable tragic drama. (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: 18th Century · 18th Century Literature · Comedy · English Playwirght · English Wit and Humour · English Writers · Plays · Playwrights · Satire
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 60437AB

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