1784

=**London's 1783-1784 Theatrical Season**=

==== London’s 1783-1783 theatrical season was exciting. Notable theatrical performances included the comedic play //Harlequin Junior// as well as //The Double Disguise//, a comic opera both produced by Drury Lane.Towards the end of the season, music overshadowed dramatic productions with a successful Handel Commemoration at Westminster Abbey and the Pantheon. The two-day affair brought in a total income of £13,000 (The London Stage). Actor John Philip Kemble joined the Drury Lane Company, strengthening it considerably with his outstanding performance in the role of Hamlet in the fall of 1783. In fact, most of the Kemble family achieved fame and “complete command of the stage” with five siblings in leading roles, four working for Drury Lane (The London Stage). ====

==== The theater, as it often does, experienced scandal during the season. Mishandling of finances and receipts by the treasurer, Peter Crawford, forced King’s Company address the public and assure them that until the end of the season, all income would now go to the board of trustees. This was not enough. The financial strain affected the company’s productions, downsizing the orchestra, acting, and scenery’s budget and therefore, quality—all of which newspapers took notice. Thomas Harris, the manager of the Covent Garden Company decided to built a new theater, the Prince of Wales, only to abandon the project for fearing that limited audiences would put his new venture and Covent Garden in fierce competition with one another. ====

=**The London Chronicle**=

//The London Chronicle// (also known as //The Universal Evening Post//) ran from 1757 to 1823, publishing issues three times weekly on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings. The publication focused on delivering general news and business from mainly England, but Europe, and the Americas as well. There was also a commitment to reporting stories on Arts and Entertainment, as well as providing a place where one could publish creative literary ventures.

In the first half of 1784 there were several big news stories. Mary Bailey was found guilty of murdering her husband and sentence to death by fire on March 8th, and she maintained her innocence until her death. She was the last person to be executed in England in this manner ( Timeline of Capital Punishment in the U.K. ). Internationally, there was a peace treaty reached between the England and The Dutch Republic, ending the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.

=**The Reparation, A Comedy**= // The Reparation // is a comedy written by Miles Peter Andrews, Esquire performed for the first time on February 14, 1784. It was produced by Drury Lane and executed at the theatre-royal. Its first run lasted a total of thirteen performances. The play begins with Belcour discussing his troubles with a friend, Loveless. He is in love with a woman, Harriet, but cannot marry her because her father, Sir Gregory Glovetop does not have much money, so he is thinking about staging a fake marriage so he may sleep with her. Loveless quickly discourages this, confessing that he has done this in the past, to a girl named Julia which he deeply regrets since she ran away her the son they had together when he revealed their false marriage so he could, because of his family’s insistence, marry Lady Susan. To cheer him up, Belcour invites Loveless to stay with him in the country during the summer. Their host is Lord Hectic, a man trying—but failing, to be a libertine, they will also be in the company of two very odd women: his sister, Lady Betty Wormwood and Belcour’s aunt, Miss Penelope Zodiac. We are introduced to another plot, Lord Hectic’s quest to become involved with Lady Louisa, who is staying at Glovetop’s house since she is a good friend of Harriet. He constantly sends an Irish man in his service, Captain Swagger, to investigate his romantic conquests. Swagger reveals the news that Glovetop has sent Louisa and her young son (she is a widow) away because he fears that her relationship (that doesn’t exist) with Glovetop will badly influence Harriet. Harriet confronts her father, who remains unwilling to reverse his decision. Louisa is leaving her child with a woman in her employment, Anna, in order to find a solution to her financial problems and runs into Harriet and they both lament the situation. Suddenly Pickaxe, Colonel Quorum’s servant comes forward to inform Louisa that his master is interested in marrying her. Lord Hectic boasts to Loveless about his libertine ways when Swagger, who tells him the news of Quorum’s intent on marrying Louisa, interrupts.

Belcour tells Loveless that he has decided to abandon his pursuit of Harriet, and Loveless assures him that he has made the right choice. They decide to redirect their efforts in helping Louisa, when Anna comes in. They ask where she is staying, and they find out that Louisa is contemplating leaving the country again, and that Anna seems to recall that she has mentioned Loveless’s name in the past. Lady Betty Wormwood finds a letter Penelope Zodiac has written to Colonel Quorum, and uses this knowledge to expose her hypocrisy (since she supposedly has no interest in romance). Loveless enters and asks both women for help with his cause, Louisa, and they both lash out at him in anger, resenting Louisa’s good fortune in her marriage offer despite being perceived as a woman of loose morals. The tension rises when Loveless offers an alternative solution that Lord Hectic offer to marry her, an idea that they also reject, and both ladies mend their relationship by turning against Loveless. Lord Hectic and Swagger aggressively confront Glovetop. Col. Quorum enters and tries to diffuse the argument but instead inserts himself in it, accused of being stuck in old ways by Hectic. Swagger and Hectic leave, and Quorum is unable to get Glovetop to assist him in his quest for Louisa. Louisa reveals to the audience that she was the young girl wronged by Loveless while walking in a wood, where Belcour finds her. He expresses Loveless’s interest to help her, which she initially rejects, but after being told that he wanted to take care of her son as well, she is overcome with emotion and allows him to take care of his son, but that she is to remain by herself in her cottage. Harriet sees and overhears some of this interaction between Belcour and Louisa and is convinced that Belcour rejected her because he had feelings for Louisa, and is hurt and betrayed. Lady Wormwood bribes the family attorney, Janus, to find a way to expel Louisa from the area when moments later Lord Hectic bribes Janus to prevent Louisa from leaving. Penelope meets with Colonel Quorum, and accepts his hand in marriage that he rejects, citing that his advances were merely friendly and to allow him to get closer to Louisa. Meanwhile, Louisa is pressured by Janus to visit Lord Hectic at his house. Loveless also goes to Hectic’s home, but to seek his help. Loveless received a letter from Louisa’s father, requesting a meeting and while he fully intends to go, he fears a duel. Hectic attempts to make and advance on Louisa and is interrupted by Loveless. Realizing what has happened, Hectic leaves Louisa and Loveless together, and Loveless leaves for the duel after promising to take care of his child if he lives. The play concludes with Loveless and Louisa’s father, Captain Hardy, about to duel. Louisa, Harriet, Belcour, and the Child intervene and convince Hardy not to duel with Loveless and accept his repentance. Quorum enters and quickly understands the situation, and lets go of his feelings for Louisa as Loveless claims Louisa to be his wife. Louisa forgives Glovetop for banishing her from his home.

**Conclusion**
//The London Chronicle// was a reputable paper that reported news as well as a large range of articles on the arts. The Anglo-Dutch war was ending, and it was a time for hope and peace, which is reflected in the ending of //The Reparation//. This was a time when plays experienced a more musical element and comedies were sentimental. The publication even published the prologue and epilogue of //The Reparation//.

**Works Citied**
Andrews, Miles Peter//. __The Reparation, a comedy. As performed at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-__// // __Lane__. By Miles Peter Andrews, Esq. London, MDCC,LXXXIV. [1784]. // Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. University of Maryland College Park. 31 Jul. 2013 .

Arts & Entertainment. London Chronicle (London, England). Feburary 24, 1784-February 26, 1784; Issue 4263.

// The London Stage, 1660-1800: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainments & Afterpieces, Together // // With Casts, Box-receipts and Contemporary Comment: Part 5, 1776-1800 //. 1st ed. Ed.Charles Beecher Hogan, et al. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1960. Print.

News. London Chronicle (London, England). March 6, 1784-March 9, 1784; Issue 4268. News. London Chronicle (London, England). May 25, 1784-May 27, 1784; Issue 4301. "Timeline of Capital Punishment in the U.K." //Timeline of Capital Punishment in the UK//. Capital Punishment U.K., n.d. Web. 8 Aug. 2013.