That Damned Revesby Play: A Study in Contradictions

Although some 200 years have passed since the first performance of what has become known as The Revesby Play and 168 years have lapsed since the existence of the British Museum copy was noted, very little is, in fact, known about this play. For example, whilst statements regarding the reasons for performance of the play have been made these have been based on evidence contained in secondhand accounts from the 19th and 20th century. In 1979 whilst researching an article to commemorate the so called anniversary of the performance of The Revesby Play a small manuscript book containing a version predating the British Museum manuscript was discovered. In order to establish the provenance of this earlier manuscript I started to investigate the massive collections of primary sources relating to the Banks family and their massive affairs. Whilst, as yet, I have only just explored the tip of the proverbial iceberg, a considerable quantity of relevant material has come to light. This paper then presents these findings and explores the contradictions they often contain.