Book 5: Sans Pareil TheatreDaily Calendars: 1806-1818

Sans Pareil TheatreDaily Calendars: 1806-1818

Seasonal digests and summaries. Daily calendars: sources, dates, titles, genres, authors, roles, performers, supervision, music, song, dance, entertainment, spectacle, scenery designers and executors, costume.

The Adelphi Calendar Project 1806-1900Alfred L. Nelson and Gilbert B. Cross, General EditorsTheodore J. Seward, Jr., Systems Analyst

The Adelphi Calendar Project 1806-1900Alfred L. Nelson and Gilbert B. Cross, General EditorsTheodore J. Seward, Jr., Systems Analyst

Copyright 1988, 1992, 2013 and 2016 by Alfred L. Nelson, Gilbert B. Cross, Joseph Donohue.

Originally published by Greenwood Press as The Sans Pareil Theatre 1806-1819, Adelphi Theatre 1819-1850: An Index to Authors, Titles, Performers, 1988, and The Adelphi Theatre 1850-1900: An Index to Authors, Titles, Performers and Management, 1992.

The Adelphi Theatre Calendar revised, reconstructed and amplified. Copyright 2016, by Alfred L. Nelson, Gilbert B. Cross, Joseph Donohue. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License, with the exception of graphics from The Clip Art Book, edited by Gerard Quinn and published by Crescent in 1990. These images are reproduced in accord with the publishers note, which states "The Clip Art Book is a new compilation of illustrations that are in the public domain. The individual illustrations are copyright free and may be reproduced without permission or payment. However, the selection of illustrations and their layout is the copyright of the publisher, so that one page or more may not be photocopied or reproduced without first contacting the publishers."

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Index to Books

Book 1: Sans Pareil/Adelphi TheatresCurtain Up: 1806-1899

Book 2: Sans Pareil/Adelphi TheatresSeasonal Digests: 1806-1899

Book 3: Sans Pareil/Adelphi TheatresSeasonal Summaries: 1806-1849

Book 4: Adelphi TheatreSeasonal Summaries: 1850-1899

Book 5: Sans Pareil TheatreDaily Calendars: 1806-1818

Book 6: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1819-1829

Book 7: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1830-1839

Book 8: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1840-1849

Book 9: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1850-1859

Book 10: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1860-1869

Book 11: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1870-1879

Book 12: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1880-1889

Book 13: Adelphi TheatreDaily Calendars: 1890-1899

Book 14: Sans Pareil/Adelphi TheatresAll-Inclusive Index: 1806-1899

ContentsIndex to BooksvList of IllustrationsixBook 5 IntroductionxiSans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1806-1807 Ed. John W. Brokaw1Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1807-1808 Ed. John W. Brokaw37Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars Summer 1808 Ed. John W. Brokaw135Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1808-1809 Ed. John W. Brokaw221Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1809-1810 Ed. John W. Brokaw303Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars Summer 1810 Ed. John W. Brokaw407Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1810-1811 Ed. Frank McHugh505Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1811-1812 Ed. Frank McHugh621Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1812-1813 Ed. Frank McHugh775Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1813-1814 Ed. Frank McHugh915Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1814-1815 Ed. Frank McHugh993Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1815-1816 Ed. Franklin Case1051Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1816-1817 Ed. Franklin Case1195Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1817-1818 Ed. Franklin Case1315Sans Pareil Theatre Daily Calendars 1818-1819 Ed. Franklin Case1453Iconography1597Full Legal Code of License1601

List of Illustrations

Illustration 1 [The Rout]1

Illustration 2 Dibdin, Charles (1745-1814): Musician, dramatist, novelist, actor133

Illustration 3 Bologna, John Peter (1775-1846): Actor, dancer407

Illustration 4 Hamblin, Thomas S. (1800-1853): Actor, theatre manager1051

Illustration 5 Hamblin, Thomas S. (1800-1853): Actor, theatre manager1053

Illustration 6 The Old Oak Chest1147

Illustration 7 Interior of the Sans Pareil Theatre 18161195

Illustration 8 Exterior of the Sans Pareil 18161196

Illustration 9 Dibdin, Charles Isaac Mungo (1768-1833): Dramatist, composer, writer, theatre proprietor1591

Illustration 10 Iconography1597

Book 5Introduction

This book is a daily record of theatrical activity at the Sans Pareil Theatre (1806-1818 seasons) when it was owned by John Scott and managed by his daughter Jane. As a minor theatre, it was only permitted to perform non-dramatic productions. On several occasions, such pieces have been entered in order to keep a record of the earliest days of the theatre. As with all daily calendars, editors check eighty-seven items for possible inclusion in each day's entry.

On the left of each entry are the date of performance, day of the week, time, and theatre abbreviation. (Originally, we hoped to combine other daily calendars with this one.) On the right is the date of the source, its format, and location. Playbills usually cover Monday to Wednesday or Thursday to Saturday. In certain instances, when it proved difficult to choose between variant sources, the editor relied on his or her experience and common sense. Commentary sections note any significant variations.

In the early years of the theatre's history, sources are very thin, and it has sometimes been necessary to assume performances took place even though no record exists. Benefit nights present a special problem. Bills for such performances are rare, since the theatre printed very few, leaving the beneficiary to print and distribute bills privately. Pieces not performed on other nights were often presented on these special occasions. Previous or subsequent bills usually offer little help, but other sources may; the London Times was invaluable in tracking major cast changes. When programs replaced bills in the last quarter of the century, the editors' work became more complex. The date on the front of a program may not be changed, but cast lists inside differ.

The daily calendar gives titles of pieces as they appear on the bill, but some are standardized. Occasionally, for example, either the main title was changed by the author, by error, or a different subtitle was printed. Editors note such changes in a comment following the title. The computer prints a running total of the number of performances during the season.

After the title or title commentary comes the author's name. In the early years of nineteenth-century theatre, authors were treated with scant respect, and editors often have to supply their names. Even with the help of Nicoll's invaluable histories, editors could not find creators for 200 pieces played between 1806 and 1900.

The computer keeps a record of the dates of first, previous and next performances.

The next entry is a genre description. If one appears on the bill, it is entered verbatim. There was an explosion of fanciful genres, and soon they became humorous playthings. The hit, Tom and Jerry; or, Life in London, is described as an "entirely new classic, comic, operatic, didactic, moralistic, Aristophanic, localic, analytic, terpsichoric, panoramic, camera-obscuraic extravaganza burletta of fun, frolic, fashion and flash." In short, many terms were meaningless. "Burletta" was by far the most overworked. This term, never defined by the Lord Chamberlain's Office, was employed to circumvent the fading monopoly of the patent houses (Drury Lane and Covent Garden). Burlettas were deemed to be musical pieces and thus exempt from the monopoly's purview. Wherever possible, editors attempt to give an accurate genre assessment, but it is sometimes impossible to be certain. The number of acts follows this item.

Researchers are frequently interested in tracing names of actors and actresses. Book 14, the All-Inclusive Index, is the place to begin a search for names because it contains all those found in the Calendar and is a guide to every season in which the actor performed.

The cast is presented in considerable detail. For every production, there is an entry reflecting the role/actor pairings for that night. At the end of each season are indexes of perfo