The Double Distress

The Double Distress
Written by	Mary Pix
Date premiered	March 1701[1]
Place premiered	Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre
Original language	English
Genre	Tragedy

The Double Distress: A Tragedy is a 1701 play by the English writer Mary Pix.[2][3] Despite its title, it is a comedy.[4]

Plot

The play takes place amidst conflict between the Persians and the Medes. Leamira is the daughter of the Persian king, Darius. Her father commands her to marry Tygranes (Prince of the Medes), but she loves the Persian general Cleomedon.

At the end of the play, it is revealed that Cleomedon is actually the son of Astiages, King of the Medes. Leamira and Cleomedon are therefore free to marry.

Original cast

The original Lincoln's Inn Fields cast included John Bowman as Darius, Barton Booth as Cleomeden, John Verbruggen as Cyraxes, Benjamin Husband as Tyranges, Elizabeth Barry as Leamires and Anne Bracegirdle as Cytheria.

References

1. Burling p.26
2. Nicoll p.97
3. Lowerre p.287
4. Suzuki, Mihoko (24 October 2011). "Recognizing Women's Dramas as Political Writing: The Plays of 1701 by Wiseman, Pix and Trotter". Women's Writing. 18 (4): 547–564. doi:10.1080/09699082.2011.600053. ISSN 0969-9082. S2CID 153577300.

Bibliography

• Burling, William J. A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992.
• Lowerre, Kathryn. Music and Musicians on the London Stage, 1695-1705. Routledge, 2017.
• Nicoll, Allardyce. History of English Drama, 1660-1900, Volume 2. Cambridge University Press, 2009.