Jane Lucas

For the Maryland lawyer, see Jane Cleo Marshall Lucas.

Jane Lucas (fl. 1693 – 1707[1]) was an English stage actress and singer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.

Career

Lucas was a member of the United Company based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane between 1693 and 1707.[1]

Early career and performance for King William III: 1693–1698

Lucas's career began in 1693 when she performed a supporting dancing role in a production under Christopher Rich.[2] She remained loyal to Rich during her time as a performer.[2]

A dancer, singer, and actor, Lucas primarily played servants and commoners in minor roles throughout her career, though she eventually became known to theatre-goers in her own right for her dancing and musical performances.[1][3] By late 1696, Lucas was billed as herself in performing her signature song, By Moonlight on the Green.[1][3][4] Reported to be a Scottish tune with lyrics by Thomas D’Urfey, Lucas performed the song with sexual overtones.[5][6]

On 13 May 1698, Camille d'Hostun, French ambassador to the Court of St James's, staged a showcase of French music and dances in Kensington for William III.[7] The showcase was an act of cultural diplomacy, as France and England had signed peace treaties ending the Nine Years' War in the autumn of the previous year.[7] A mix of performers from the Paris Opéra and London theatres were selected to participate in the staging, and Lucas performed as a bride in a wedding scene alongside celebrated French dancer Anthony L’Abbé, who played the groom.[7]

Public profile and decline: 1699–1707

Drury Lane advertising described Lucas as an audience "favourite" by 1702.[3] Advertising for the Drury Lane troupe also occasionally relied upon actors being known to the public as personalities in their own right.[4] Lucas was publicised as having a penchant for coffee, which became a recurring joke during performances.[4][2] One performance involved Lucas, playing herself, arriving 'late' for a scene due to drinking coffee backstage.[2]

Lucas's final known role with the United Company was that of Constance in The Northern Lass by Richard Brome, performed 26 December 1707.[8]

An order issued by the Lord Chamberlain on 31 December effectively mandated that all operatic or musical productions could only be performed at the Queen's Theatre, and only stage entertainments not set to music could be performed at Drury Lane.[9][10] The purpose of this order was to address growing competition between the two theatres.[9][10] Following the order, Lucas was among several minor players who no longer appeared on rosters for Drury Lane productions.[11]

Accusation of assault against Colley Cibber

In July 1697, Lucas brought a suit for assault against fellow actor Colley Cibber, resulting in Cibber's imprisonment.[1][12][13] The previous year, Lucas had performed a minor role in Cibber's play, Love's Last Shift.[12][14]

Cibber wrote to the Earl of Sunderland, Lord Chamberlain, seeking his release on the grounds that Lucas had not sought Sunderland's permission to have Cibber arrested.[1][13] At the time, the Drury Theatre's lead actors were under the Lord Chamberlain's protection.[13]

Cibber was not prosecuted and Lucas continued to play alongside Cibber in the United Company.[1][12][15] Theatre historian Fidelis Morgan posits that Lucas likely continued to work with Cibber because little alternative work existed for actresses at the time.[15]

Legacy

The 1719 entry into an anthology of songs published by Thomas d'Urfey, Wit and Mirth, included several songs noted to have been favourites of Lucas.[2] The anthology also contained a tribute to her, suggesting she had remained recognisable in popular artistic knowledge at this time.[2]

In 2023, the Curious Bards, a French band dedicated to Gaelic and Celtic traditional music, recorded a version of By Moonlight on the Green, acknowledging Lucas as the song's originator.[5][6]

Notable performances

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sewell, Jane; Smout, Clare (29 April 2020). The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage. Springer Nature. pp. 193–194. ISBN 978-3-030-23828-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Highfill, Philip H. (1973). A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London, 1660–1800. Southern Illinois University Press. pp. 376–377. ISBN 978-0-8093-0518-6.
  3. ^ a b c Lowerre, Kathryn (5 July 2017). Music and Musicians on the London Stage, 1695–1705. Routledge. pp. 24, 130, 166, 268, 291, 300. ISBN 978-1-351-55762-7.
  4. ^ a b c Gobert, R. Darren (21 August 2013). The Mind-Body Stage: Passion and Interaction in the Cartesian Theater. Stanford University Press. pp. 114–115, 219. ISBN 978-0-8047-8826-7.
  5. ^ a b Curious Bards, The (2023). The Curious Bards: Indiscretion (PDF). France: Harmonia Mundi. pp. 20–24, 30.
  6. ^ a b Martinez, Elodie (12 December 2023). "Chronique d'album : Indiscretion, de The Curious Bards". www.opera-online.com (in French). Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Thorp, Jennifer (28 December 2024). "A Lullian divertissement for King William III at Kensington in 1698". Early Music. 52 (2): 173–189. doi:10.1093/em/caae028. ISSN 0306-1078.
  8. ^ "London Stage Event: 26 December 1707 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  9. ^ a b Pick, John (26 November 2013). Building Jerusalem: Art, Industry and the British Millennium. Routledge. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-134-41442-0.
  10. ^ a b McGeary, Thomas (2022). Opera and Politics in Queen Anne's Britain, 1705–1714. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-1-78327-715-5.
  11. ^ Wanko, Cheryl (1 May 1991). "Mary Morein (fl. 1707): Drury Lane Actress and Fair Performer". Theatre Survey. 32 (1): 22–30. doi:10.1017/S0040557400009431. ISSN 1475-4533 – via Cambridge Online.
  12. ^ a b c d Roberts, David (21 July 2022). An Apology for the Life of Mr Colley Cibber, Comedian and Late Patentee of the Theatre Royal: A Modernized Text. Cambridge University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-009-11553-7.
  13. ^ a b c Rehder, Robert M. (16 June 2016). "Introduction". Narrative of the Life of Mrs Charlotte Charke. Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-315-47724-4.
  14. ^ "London Stage Event: January 1696 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  15. ^ a b Morgan, Fidelis; Charke, Charlotte (1988). The well-known troublemaker: a life of Charlotte Charke. London ; Boston: Faber. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-571-14743-4.
  16. ^ "London Stage Event: April 1696 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedb.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  17. ^ "London Stage Event: June 1696 at Dorset Garden Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  18. ^ "London Stage Event: October 1700 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  19. ^ "London Stage Event: April 1701 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  20. ^ "London Stage Event: December 1701 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  21. ^ "London Stage Event: November 1702 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  22. ^ "London Stage Event: 23 June 1703 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  23. ^ "London Stage Event: 02 December 1703 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  24. ^ "London Stage Event: 10 April 1703 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  25. ^ "London Stage Event: 18 January 1705 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  26. ^ "London Stage Event: 23 October 1707 at Drury Lane Theatre". londonstagedatabase.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
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