Broadside for the Theatre Royal, English Opera Presenting "The Wizard: Or, the Brown Man of the Moor"

S. l. (London): s. n., 1817. Good. Broadside; 12 3/4 x 7 1/2; backed on a card stock sheet with margins closely trimmed; card stock frame; uniform age-toning and a few small worn spots; in about good condition.The broadside advertised a performance of "The Wizard: Or, the Brown Man of the Moor" - based on Walter Scott's "Black Dwarf - with the principal actors being Miss Kelly and Miss Love, Mr. H. Johnston, and others. Also advertised were the comical operetta "Fire and Water," the melodrama "Two Words: Or, Silent Not Dumb," and "The Chinese Walk." Perhaps the most appealing feature of the broadside was the bold statement at its head reading: "The GAS LIGHTS are now introduced over the whole Stage." The Lyceum Theatre (it would become the English Opera House in 1816), traced its origins to 1765 and would be the first theatre in Britain to have its stage lit by gas on August 6, 1817 - just a few months before the current performances.