The Excellent Comedy, called The Old Law: Or A new way to please you. Acted before the King and Queene at Salisbury House, and at severall other places, with great Applause. Together with an exact and perfect Catalogue of all Players, with the Authors Names, and what are Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Pastoralls, Masks, Interludes, more exactly Printed than ever before

TitleThe Excellent Comedy, called The Old Law: Or A new way to please you. Acted before the King and Queene at Salisbury House, and at severall other places, with great Applause. Together with an exact and perfect Catalogue of all Players, with the Authors Names, and what are Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Pastoralls, Masks, Interludes, more exactly Printed than ever before
Year for Search1656
AuthorsMassinger, Phil[ip](1583-1640), Middleton, Tho[mas](1580-1627), and Rowley, William(1585?-1626)
Date Published1656. Thomason's copy at the British Library indicates that it was published 6 August 1655, but it is 1656 in the book.
PublisherPtd. for Edward Archer
Place PublishedLondon
KeywordsEnglish author, Male author
Annotation

The establishment of a fixed period for the length of life and its effects. It was all a test of the people by the rulers.

Additional Publishers

Rpt. Ed. Catherine M. Shaw. New York: Garland, 1982. Critical ed. as "An/The Old Law Or, A New Way to Please You". Ed. Jeffrey Masten. In Thomas Middleton, Collected Works. Ed. Gary Taylor and Jay Lavagnino (Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 2007), 1335-96 (Comment by Masten 1331-34). Additional textual commentary by Masten in Thomas Middleton and Early Modern Textual Culture: A Companion to the Collected Works. Ed. Gary Taylor and Jay Lavagnino (Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 2007), 1123-30.

Info Notes

First performed 1618. It was adapted by Max Hafler and his version was first performed in October 1990 at the Lyric Hammersmith in London.

Holding Institutions

L, VUW

Author Note

Massinger (1583-1640); Middleton (1580-1627); Rowley (1585?-1626)

Full Text

1656 Massinger, Phil[ip] (1583-1640); Tho[mas] Middleton (1580-1627); and William Rowley (1585?-1626). The Excellent Comedy, called The Old Law: Or A new way to please you. Acted before the King and Queene at Salisbury House, and at severall other places, with great Applause. Together with an exact and perfect Catalogue of all Players, with the Authors Names, and what are Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Pastoralls, Masks, Interludes, more exactly Printed than ever before. London: Ptd. for Edward Archer. [Thomason’s copy at the British Library indicates that it was published 6 August 1655, but it is 1656 in the book]. First performed 1618. Rpt. ed. Catherine M. Shaw. New York: Garland, 1982. Critical ed. as “An/The Old Law Or, A New Way to Please You”. Ed. Jeffrey Masten. In Thomas Middleton, Collected Works. Ed. Gary Taylor and Jay Lavagnino (Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 2007), 1335-96 (Comment by Masten 1331-34). Additional textual commentary by Masten in Thomas Middleton and Early Modern Textual Culture: A Companion to the Collected Works. Ed. Gary Taylor and Jay Lavagnino (Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 2007), 1123-30. It was adapted by Max Hafler and his version was first performed in October 1990 at the Lyric Hammersmith in London. L, VUW

The establishment of a fixed period for the length of life and its effects. It was all a test of the people by the rulers.