C.1738 ], Thomas Davies (c.1712-85) on Colley Cibber (1671-1757) at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, as Justice Shallow in Henry the Fourth, Part Two, from Dramatic Micellanies [sic], 3 vols. (1784), i. 306-7.

Abstract

Abstract Thomas Davies was an actor turned bookseller and publisher whose Dramatic Micellanies, consisting of critical observations on several plays of Shakespeare, with a review of his principal characters and those of various eminent writers, as represented by Mr Garrick and other celebrated comedians, appeared first in 1784. Justice Shallow in Henry the Fourth, Part Two was one of Cibber’s best roles. He ostensibly retired from the stage in 1733 but reappeared later, playing Shallow with great success at Drury Lane in the 1738 season. Davies’s account suggests how Cibber capitalized on his own appearance to create an impression of individual character.