Le Tambour nocturne ou Le mari devin Comédie Angloise en Cinq Actes - Addison, Joseph 1672-1719; Destouches, Philippe Néricault 1680-1754 (Amsterdam Jolly, 1754)
Lady Truman is apparently widowed when she receives word that her husband Sir George has been killed in battle during the recent war. As she is now the wealthy owner of an estate she is pursued by two suitors, but concerningly the house is disturbed at night by repeated sounds of ghostly drumming. After the drumming has scared off the two suitors Mr. Tinsel and Mr. Fantome it is revealed to be the work of Sir George, still very much alive.
premiere in Drury Lane Theater London, 1716
Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine. His simple prose style marked the end of the mannerisms and conventional classical images of the 17th century.[
The Gallica-digitalisation in the version revised by the actor Jean Claude Gilles Colson (1725-1778) dit Bellecour, was according to Léris first performed in 1762:https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9738993k.texteImage
First edition of the French translation by Destouches.
The Drummer, or The Haunted House
Keywords: 18th Century (1701-1800); Play (theater); France