Speed the Plough

This article is about Morton's 1798 play. For Mamet's 1988 play, see Speed-the-Plow.

Speed the Plough
1807 edition
Written byThomas Morton
Date premiered8 February 1800[1]
Place premieredTheatre Royal, Covent Garden, London
Original languageEnglish
GenreComedy
SettingEngland, present day

Speed the Plough is a five-act comedy by Thomas Morton, written in 1798 and first performed in 1800 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden to great acclaim. It is mostly remembered today for the sake of the unseen character, Mrs Grundy.[2] [3] The original Covent Garden cast included Alexander Pope as Sir Philip Blandford, Charles Murray as Morrington, Joseph Munden as Sir Abel Handy, John Fawcett as Bob Handy, Henry Erskine Johnston as Henry, Thomas Knight as Farmer Ashfield, George Davenport as Evergreen, John Waddy as Gerald, Charles Klanert as Handy's Servant, Mary Ann Davenport as Dame Ashfield and Nannette Johnston as Miss Blandford. The Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 21 February 1800.[4]

The play may have been inspired by August Kotzebue's Graf von Burgund ("The Count of Burgundy"), which had recently failed at the same theatre.[5] Kotzebue's more serious play also concerns a young man named Henry who is ignorant of his own origins.

  1. ^ Nicoll p.289
  2. ^ Morton, Thomas (1807). Speed the Plough, A Comedy in Five Acts. Philadelphia: Printed for Mathew Carey. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  3. ^ Gilbert p.16
  4. ^ Greene p.4507
  5. ^ Sutcliffe p.47