Love in a Maze
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| Author | James Shirley |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy of manners |
| Publisher | Printed by G. P. for William Cooke, and are to be sold at his shop neere Furnivals Inne Gate in Holborne |
Publication date | 1632 |
| Publication place | London, England |
| Pages | 69 |
| OCLC | 9200719 |
Changes: Or, Love in a Maze[1] is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy of manners written by James Shirley, first published in 1632. It was one of Shirley's most popular comedies, especially in the Restoration era. The play (which involves an actual maze in its final act) is almost universally known by its subtitle.
The play was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, 10 January, 1632. Unusually for a Shirley play of this period, Love in a Maze was acted by the King's Revels Men at the Salisbury Court Theatre, rather than the troupe for which Shirley normally wrote, Queen Henrietta's Men.
The 1632 quarto was published by the bookseller William Cooke, and was dedicated to "the right honourable the Lady Dorothy Shirley," the wife of Sir Robert Shirley, baronet. Shirley the dramatist may have been related to this prominent Shirley family of Warwickshire.[2]
The play was revived and performed often during the Restoration; Samuel Pepys saw it five times between May 1662 and April 1668, as recorded in his famous Diary.[3] The comic actor John Lacy achieved a great popular success in the role of Johnny Thump. Love in a Maze was also performed at the Inns of Court in 1664, and John Dryden adapted material from the play for his The Maiden Queen (1668).
Shirley's popular play influenced subsequent works by other writers of his era, including The Lovesick Court by Richard Brome and The Ladies' Privilege by Henry Glapthorne.