Editing David Garrick (section)

== Drury Lane ==
{{Moresources|section|date=July 2023}}
[[File:Zoffany-Garrick in The Alchemist.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Garrick (right) as Abel Drugger in Jonson's ''The Alchemist'' painted by [[Johann Zoffany]]]]
At the end of the London season, Garrick, along with Peg Woffington, traveled to [[Dublin]] for the summer season at the [[Theatre Royal, Dublin|Theatre Royal, Smock Lane]]. While in Dublin, Garrick added two new roles to his repertoire: Shakespeare's [[Hamlet]], Abel Drugger in [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[The Alchemist (play)|The Alchemist]]'' (a role that earned him much acclaim<ref name="Hartnoll 1983, p. 315" />) and Captain Plume in Farquhar's ''The Recruiting Officer''.{{sfn|Woods|1996|p=291}} Some of his success could be attributed to one of his earliest fans, [[John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork]], who wrote letters to many noblemen and gentlemen recommending Garrick's acting. His writings led Garrick to exclaim that it must have been the reason he was "more caressed" in Dublin.{{sfn|Kendall|1985|p=26}}

Five years after joining the acting company at Drury Lane, Garrick again traveled to Dublin for a season where he managed and directed at the Smock Alley Theatre in conjunction with [[Thomas Sheridan (actor)|Thomas Sheridan]], the father of [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]]. After his return to London, he spent some time acting at Covent Garden under [[John Rich (producer)|John Rich]] while a [[farce]] of his, ''[[Miss in Her Teens]]'', was also produced there.

With the end of the 1746–1747 season, Fleetwoods' patent on Drury Lane expired in partnership with [[James Lacy (actor)|James Lacy]], Garrick took over the theatre in April 1747. The theatre had been in decline for some years, but the partnership of Garrick and Lacy led to success and accolades. The first performance under Garrick and Lacy's management opened with an ''Ode to Drury Lane Theatre, on dedicating a Building and erecting a Statue, to Shakespeare'' read by Garrick and written by his friend, Dr Johnson. The ode promised the patrons that "The drama's law the drama's patrons give,/For we that live to please must please to live." Certainly, this statement could be regarded as succinctly summing up Garrick's management at Drury Lane where he was able to balance both artistic integrity and the fickle tastes of the public.

[[File:William Hogarth - David Garrick (1717-79) with his wife Eva-Maria Veigel, "La Violette" or "Violetti" (1725 - 1822) - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Garrick and his wife, Eva Marie Veigel, painted by [[William Hogarth]]. From the [[Royal Collection]], [[Windsor Castle]].]]
After the Woffington affair, there were several botched love affairs, including possibly fathering a son with [[Jane Green (actress)|Jane Green]].{{sfn|Batty|2004}} Garrick met [[Eva Marie Veigel]] (1724–1822), a German dancer in opera choruses who emigrated to London in 1746. The pair wed on 22 June 1749 and were depicted together in several portraits, including one by [[William Hogarth]], who also made several drawings and paintings of them separately.  The union was childless but happy, Garrick calling her "the best of women and wives",{{sfn|Carruthers|Ward|1911|pp=475–477}} and they were famously inseparable throughout their nearly 30 years of marriage. Garrick's increasing wealth enabled him to purchase a palatial estate for Eva Marie and himself to live in, naming it [[Garrick's Villa]], that he bought at [[Hampton, London|Hampton]] in 1754.{{sfn|Sheaf|Howe|1995|p=55}} He also indulged his passion for Shakespeare by building a [[Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare|Temple to Shakespeare]] on the riverside at Hampton to house his collection of memorabilia.{{sfn|Richmond Library staff|2011}} Hogarth collaborated with Garrick on the furnishing of this temple, and their relationship to, and self-identification with, Shakespeare has been extensively examined by [[Robin Simon (critic)|Robin Simon]].<ref>[https://www.paulholberton.com/product-page/shakespeare-hogarth-and-garrick-plays-painting-and-performance ''Shakespeare, Hogarth and Garrick: Plays, Painting and Performance''] (London 2023).</ref>

In September 1769 Garrick staged the [[Shakespeare Jubilee]] in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]].{{sfn|Pierce|2005|pp= 4–10}} It was a major focal point in the emerging movement that helped cement Shakespeare as England's [[national poet]]. It involved a number of events held in the town to celebrate (five years too late) 200 years since Shakespeare's birth. In a speech made on the second day of the Jubilee in Stratford Garrick recognized the [[Shakespeare Ladies Club]] as those who "restor'd Shakespeare to the Stage," protecting his fame and erecting "a Monument to his and your own honor in Westminster Abbey."<ref>qtd. in {{harvnb|Stochholm|1964|p=91}}.</ref>

No Shakespeare plays were performed during the Jubilee, and heavy rain forced a Shakespeare Pageant to be called off. The Pageant was first staged a month later at [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane Theatre]] under the title ''[[The Jubilee]]'' and proved successful, with 90 performances.{{sfn|Pierce|2005|pp=9–10}} The song "[[Soft Flowing Avon]]" was composed by [[Thomas Arne]], with lyrics by Garrick, for the Jubilee.

Garrick managed the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, until he retired from management in 1776. In his last years he continued to add roles to his repertoire; Posthumus in ''[[Cymbeline]]'' was among his last famous roles.