The Counterfeit Bridegroom

Written byattributed to Aphra Behn or Thomas Betterton, adapted from a play by Thomas Middleton

Date premiered1676 or 1677^[1]

Place premieredDorset Garden Theatre, London

Original languageEnglish

The Counterfeit Bridegroom
Written by	attributed to Aphra Behn or Thomas Betterton, adapted from a play by Thomas Middleton
Date premiered	1676 or 1677[1]
Place premiered	Dorset Garden Theatre, London
Original language	English
Genre	Restoration Comedy

The Counterfeit Bridegroom; Or, The Defeated Widow is a 1677 comedy play, adapted from an earlier Jacobean play, No Wit, No Help Like a Woman's by Thomas Middleton.^[2] The play was published anonymously in the fall of 1677.^[3] The adaptation has often been attributed to Aphra Behn, but her involvement is not certain,^[4] and alternative attributions to Thomas Betterton^[5] or to a collaboration of more than one reviser^[6] have also been suggested.

The play was originally performed in 1676 or 1677 by the Duke's Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London. The cast included Anthony Leigh as Sir Oliver Santloe, John Bowman as Peter Santloe, Thomas Gillow as Sanders, John Crosby as Noble, Joseph Williams as Hadland, Thomas Percival as Sir Gregory Lovemuch, Henry Norris as Gazer, John Richards as Sam, Anne Shadwell as Clarina, Margaret Osborne as Widow Laudwell and Elizabeth Currer as Mrs Hadland.^[7]