A School for Greybeards; or, The Mourning Bride

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Author, Cowley: “I offer the following Comedy to the public, under a circumstance which has given my mind the most exquisite uneasiness. On the morning after the first representation, it was observed by the papers that there had been persons present at the Theatre the previous evening, who went there determined to disapprove at all events.” This play of 1786 is based on Aphra Behn’s “Lucky Chance” of 100 years earlier. By moving the scenes from London to far away romantic Portugal, Cowley thought to avoid criticism for the way she treated aspects of marriage in the play. She was unsuccessful in this, and had to alter the scripts for continued performances. In the published version on which this recording is based, she had restored the changes she had to make. Cowley explains some of this in an opening address in the publication, herein included at the end of Act 5 to avoid spoilers to the action of the play.