WANDERING PATENTEE; OR, A HISTORY OF THE YORKSHIRE THEATRES, FROM 1770 TO THE PRESENT TIME: Interfperfed with ANECDOTES respecting MOST OF THE PERFORMERS · IN THE THREE KINGDOMS, FROM 1765 to 1795. BY TATE WILKINSON. IN FOUR VOLUMES. To which are added, never published, THE DIVERSIONS OF THE MORNING, AND FOOTE'S TRIAL Written by the late SAMUEL FOOTE, Esq. "Smith. so YOU WRITE ON, MR. PAYES? “Bayes. AY—AND SO LONG AS I KNOW ALL MY THINGS Duke of Buckingham's Rehearsal. VOL. III. TORK: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY WILSON, SPENCE, AND MAWMAN: SOLD BY G. G. & J. ROBINSON, PATERNOSTERROW; T. EGERTON, Anno 1795. This facsimile of the 1795 edition is reproduced ISBN o 85967 123 2 Printed and published by The Scolar Press Limited, 8229 W69 w and Ilkley, Yorkshire 1973 THE WANDERING PATENTEE YORK ORK Affizes, that year 1786,-Saturday July 29,-was the SIDONIAN YEAR; which will, I fear, be unequalled in the Yorkshire Theatrical Annals in an age, if not ages to come. Had the receipts been confined to one spot, without journies to have occafioned the extraordinary expences attendant, it would indeed have been (and owing to Mrs. Siddons alone) a WILKINSONIAN YEAR, to have been remembered and recorded by his profent generation, and by the generation to come ;-but it was incumbered with various and innumerable drawbacks by travelling from place to place. To give an account of the houses Mrs. Siddons drew at that memorable time, would appear hereafter to the reader almost incredible. To fill a page with the merits of her Lady Macbeth, IfaVolume III. B bella, and many other characters would be really telling when Eafter-day or Christmas-day is to fall, which every child is, or ought to be acquainted with; but the eager defire and rage of crowds to fee her at York were fuch as resembled those in London for admittance on particular occafions; and York can boaft from the words of Mr. Siddons, that Mrs. Siddons performed to the greatest recept at that city, on Thursday August 4, 1786, she ever acted to at any Theatre, at that time out of London. Mrs. Siddons, by her Yorkshire expedition, 1786, received from her profits no less a fum than eleven hundred pounds, or very near it, for 17 nights acting, without alluding to any presentations she might and certainly did receive most liberally from particular perfons, at York, on her benefit night. ap The laurels Mrs. Siddons obtained at York induced her to extend her fame, by the vifiting Hull, where the public were highly gratified the 14th, 15th, 17th, and 18th of August, by her pearing in the Grecian Daughter, Zara, Belvidera, and Ifabella. The full receipt 4481. 14s. 6d. Had that happened in the ufual winter feafon, it would have been a lucky stroke for me, though the players and myself might poffibly have mourned a little for our Melpomene; but the expences were fo enormous in proportion, that my profit was only 1281. 8s. 6d. and the following ufual winter season, was more univerfally deserted than any that I recollect in the course of my practice. Nothing pleased;-of course Mr. Manager was quite out of favour. Mrs. Siddons on her return to York from Hull, re-engaged for three nights in the York race week, when she performed the following characters, Euphrafia, Elwina, and Califta; on the last night the upper-gallery airy beings were so turbulent, that not a line could be heard during the whole play, but Jobson and Nell they honoured with great attention and applause. On the Monday Mrs. Siddons finished at York, with playing Margaret of Anjou for her brother Stephen Kemble's Benefit. I perfuaded her to try Leeds, where the acted the Grecian Daughter, Zara, Ifabella, and Belvidera, August 30th, Sept. 1ft, 4th, and 5th; the recepts were 4371. 18s. Mrs. Siddons had only that week to difpofc of, as fhe was to play the enfuing one at Liverpool; but to my grief, great vexation, and astonishment, several persons attempted to stir up a mutiny against me at Wakefield, urging that I treated the town with great disrespect and infolence, in not bringing Mrs. Siddons to play there, as well as at Leeds; the following good natured note was also sent to the Leeds newspaper. |