The Battle of Hexham is a 1789 history play by the British writer George Colman the Younger. It is based around the 1464 Battle of Hexham, a decisive Yorkist victory during the War of the Roses. It revived Colman's career after the disappointment of his works following his earlier hit Inkle and Yarico.[1] It premiered at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 11 August 1789 with a cast that included John Edwin and Maria Theresa Kemble. It helped reinvigorate the history genre. It combined a mixture of comedy, pathos and mystery and owned a great deal of its inspiration to Shakespeare's histories.[2]

The Battle of Hexham
1790 playtext published in Ireland
Written byGeorge Colman the Younger
Date premiered11 August 1789
Place premieredHaymarket Theatre, London
Original languageEnglish
GenreHistory

Bibliography

edit
  • Sutcliffe, Barry. Plays by George Colman the Younger and Thomas Morton. CUP Archive, 1983.
  • Taylor, George. The French Revolution and the London Stage, 1789-1805 Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Watson, George. The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: Volume 2, 1660–1800. Cambridge University Press, 1971.

References

edit
  1. ^ Sutcliffe p.26
  2. ^ Taylor p.48