Ravenscroft, Edward

Ravenscroft, Edward (fl. 1671–97), English dramatist, whose career as a playwright started in 1671 with an adaptation of Molière's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme as Mamamouchi; or, The Citizen Turned Gentleman. Another adaptation of Molière, The Careless Lovers (1673), based on Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, was followed by an original comedy, The Wrangling Lovers; or, The Invisible Mistress (1676). An adaptation of Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin was forestalled by Otway's version, and had to be postponed until 1677, in which year there also appeared King Edgar and Aldreda, a tragi-comedy, and The English Lawyer, an English version of George Ruggle's Ignoramus. Ravenscroft's best work, however, was a farce, the outrageous The London Cuckolds (1681), which it became the tradition to produce at both Patent Theatres on Lord Mayor's Day until Garrick stopped it at Drury Lane in 1751 and Covent Garden dropped it three years later. It was revived in 1782, and then disappeared until 1979, when it was revived at the Royal Court Theatre. A further adaptation of Molière, The Anatomist; or, The Sham Doctor (1696), was Ravenscroft's last comedy, and his last play, a tragedy, was The Italian Husband (1697).