Portal:Theatre/Selected article
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Colley Cibber (June 11, 1671 – November 12, 1757) was an English playwright, actor, and Poet Laureate. His status as the first in a long line of actor-managers established his importance in theater history, and his colorful memoir (Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber) was key in starting the British tradition of rambling autobiographical style. Cibber's works provide valuable documentation of London stage practices for today's historians, and two of his original comedies are particularly useful records of the changing culture and ideology of the early 18th century.
Cibber wrote some original plays for performance by his own company at Drury Lane and adapted many more. His work received frequent criticism of his "miserable mutilation" (Robert Lowe) of "hapless Shakespeare, and crucify'd Molière" (Alexander Pope). He regarded himself as first and foremost an actor, and though his persistent efforts as a tragic performer were widely ridiculed, he enjoyed success in portraying humorous and foppish characters.
Contemporaries frequently accused Cibber of tasteless theatrical productions and shady business dealings. Social and political opportunism was thought to have gained him the laureateship over far better writers, and despite the award his poetic works are considered nugatory by modern scholars. In addition, Cibber's brash and extroverted personality offended many, and he rose to herostratic fame as the chief target of Alexander Pope's satirical poem The Dunciad.
