Editing She Stoops to Conquer (section)

==Productions==
The original production premiered in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 March 1773 with [[Mary Bulkley]] as Constantia Hardcastle,<ref name="Oxford DNB" >[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39764# Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Bulkley née Wilford; other married name Barresford, Mary, by John Levitt]</ref> and was immediately successful.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/220/0923.html ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21)'', Volume X. The Age of Johnson, IX. Oliver Goldsmith, § 23 ''She Stoops to Conquer'']. Retrieved 21 May 2009.</ref> In the nineteenth century, actor and comedian [[Lionel Brough]] debuted as [[Tony Lumpkin]] in 1869 and continued to play the character in 1777 performances,<ref>Banerji, Nilanjana. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32100  "Brough, Lionel (1836–1909)"]. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 25 December 2019.</ref> whilst an 1881 production of the play was socialite and actress [[Lillie Langtry]]'s first big success.<ref>[[The New International Encyclopedia]], p.544</ref>

In 1964, the play was staged by the [[Gateway Theatre (Edinburgh)|Edinburgh Gateway Company]], directed by [[Victor Carin]].<ref>Edinburgh Gateway Company (1965), ''The Twelve Seasons of the Edinburgh Gateway Company, 1953 – 1965'', St. Giles Press, Edinburgh, p. 55</ref> It was chosen by the Angles Theatre company to relaunch the Georgian [[Angles Theatre]] in 1978, about 130 years after it closed. An incident in a nearby house in Leverington may have been the basis of the play.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.anglestheatre.co.uk/history.html|title=Angles History|website=anglestheatre.co.uk|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref> Goldsmith is supposed to have visited his friends the Lumpkins at their home Parkfield, Leverington. Lumpkin moved to Wisbech later and this play was very popular in the local theatre.<ref>{{cite book|title=An Illustrated Guide to WISBECH ST.PETER|author=TW Foster|year=1867|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{Handbills in the [[Wisbech & Fenland Museum]] collection of over 200 items)</ref>

Perhaps one of the most famous modern incarnations of ''She Stoops to Conquer'' was [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]]'s version, staged in 1993 and starring [[Miriam Margolyes]] as Mrs. Hardcastle.{{according to whom|date=August 2018}} The most famous TV production is the 1971 version featuring [[Ralph Richardson]], [[Tom Courtenay]], [[Juliet Mills]], and [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]], with [[Trevor Peacock]] as Tony Lumpkin. Courtenay, Mills, and Peacock also performed in this play at The [[Garrick Theatre]], London, in 1969. The 1971 version was shot on location near [[Ross-on-Wye]], Herefordshire, and is part of the BBC archive. This play was one of 13 BBC productions that formed the series of thirteen British and European plays called Classic Theatre, the Humanities in Drama.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Media Log: Literature and Language |url=https://www.neh.gov/divisions/public/resource/media-log-literature-and-language |access-date=2024-03-30 |website=The National Endowment for the Humanities |language=en-US}}</ref> The series was funded in the U.S. by the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]] and used as a study aid on video tape by thousands of U.S. students.

In 2008 the play was again produced in [[Wisbech]]. The story goes that Oliver Goldsmith wrote the play while staying with the Lumpkin family at Park House in [[Leverington]], near Wisbech and that he lampooned his friend, Nicholas Lumpkin, by turning him into his famous creation, Tony Lumpkin. The real Lumpkin moved to Wisbech after his money ran out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wisbechstandard.co.uk/news/wisbech-rare-treat-for-town-as-celebrated-comedy-performed-in-home-town-where-it-all-began-1-387031|title=Wisbech Standard|website=wisbechstandard.co.uk|access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref>