Characters:

MEN (5)

·   WILLIAM-HENRY IRELAND (19) – TENOR, aspiring writer and reluctant legal apprentice; solitary, moody; precocious yet introverted; quick-learner, bookish, falsely believed to be lazy and dull-witted;  desperate for the approval of his father, Samuel 

·   MONTAGUE TALBOT (early 20s) – BARITONE or TENOR, actor and ensemble member at Drury Lane Theatre, school friend of William-Henry. Honest, poor, witty and a devoted friend.

·   SAMUEL IRELAND (60s) – Boorish BARITONE/BASS, father of William-Henry; writer, engraver, printmaker, and collector of antiquities; worshipper of Shakespeare; physically and emotionally remote parent; social climber; incapable of honest affection or offering praise

·   RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN (40s) – BARITONE/TENOR actor and co-owner of Drury Lane Theatre, ego-driven, dismissive, demanding, loves the sound of his own voice, stuck in old ways

·   JOHN KEMBLE (30s) – TENOR, well-known actor at Drury Lane Theatre, known for overacting and divo-esque behavior; brother of Sarah Siddons. Former leading man, now witty curmudgeon. (actor also plays JOSEPH WARTON (50s) – renowned literary critic and poet and CON ARTIST, BELIEVER/NON-BELIEVER/ENSEMBLE) 

WOMEN (5)

·   HENRIETTA HEMINGE (vague age) – MEZZO, actor at Drury Lane Theatre; compelling, feisty, clever, in love with Montague (actor also plays a CON ARTIST/ENSEMBLE)

·   ALICE CRUDGE (late teens) – SOPRANO/MEZZO young clerk in William-Henry’s office; assertive, inquisitive, bookish, independent, likes puzzles – think an older Enola Holmes (actor also plays EDMOND MALONE (50s)- author, publisher, foremost Shakespeare scholar, influential critic; nemesis of Samuel; CON ARTIST, BELIEVER/NON-BELIEVER, ACTOR/ENSEMBLE

·   MRS. FREEMAN (40s) – SOPRANO/MEZZO the Ireland’s beleaguered housekeeper; former mistress of the Fourth Earl of Sandwich); wise and warm (actor also plays SARAH SIDDONS (40s) – well-known Drury Lane Theatre actress and  imperious sister of John Philip Kemble, also plays CON ARTIST, BELIEVER/NON-BELIEVER/ENSEMBLE

·   ANNA MARIA IRELAND (20s) – SOPRANO other obnoxious daughter of Samuel, older sister of William-Henry (actor also plays DOROTHEA JORDAN (30s) - much-admired actress , SAMUEL PARR (50s) – esteemed scholar, overbearing and always ill, also plays SCHOLAR, ENSEMBLE

-  JANE IRELAND (early 20s) – obnoxious daughter of Samuel Ireland, older sister of William-Henry, and JAMES BOSWELL (50s) - eminent writer/biographer and man-about-town AUCTIONEER/ENSEMBLE