A Just View of the British Stage, or three Heads are better than one, William Hogarth, 1724

The stage of the theatre royal, drury lane, during a rehearsal for a new farce; the three managers of the theatre seated at table in centre, to the left robert wilks, dangling a punch puppet, speaking 'poor r-ch faith i pitty him'; colley cibber in centre, with harlequin puppet looks up to the right, speaking 'assist ye sacred nine'; and on the right barton booth lowers puppet of jack hall into a privy, speaking 'ha this will do g-d d-me'; on either side of stage are statues on pedestals, to the left tragedy, with head hidden by notice of 'harlequin dr faustus', and on the right comedy hidden by notice of 'harlequin shepherd'; surrounded by pantomime props, including a hanging fiddler, wtih similar ropes hanging above the heads of the managers; ben johnson's ghost rising on the left, looking down on the fallen and broken statue of a roman soldier. 1724 etching. Date: 1724. Dimensions: Height: 204 mm; Width: 226 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Robert Wilks. Collection: British Museum. A Just View of the British Stage, or three Heads are better than one (BM Cc,1.65)