A Trick to Catch the Old One

A Trick to Catch the Old One is a Jacobean comedy written by Thomas Middleton, first published in 1608. The play is a satire in the sub-genre of city comedy. The play was entered into the Stationers' Register on Oct. 7, 1607 by the printer George Eld, and published by him in quarto in the following year, 1608. The title page of Q1 states that A Trick was acted by the Children of Paul's, one of the companies of boy actors popular at the time. The ... more

A Trick to Catch the Old One is a Jacobean comedy written by Thomas Middleton, first published in 1608. The play is a satire in the sub-genre of city comedy. The play was entered into the Stationers' Register on Oct. 7, 1607 by the printer George Eld, and published by him in quarto in the following year, 1608. The title page of Q1 states that A Trick was acted by the Children of Paul's, one of the companies of boy actors popular at the time. The play was probably written and first acted ca. 1605. The play was popular; a second quarto was issued in the same year, printed by Eld for the bookseller Henry Rocket. The title page of Q2 attributes the play to "T. M." and states that A Trick was acted by both the Children of Paul's and the Children of the Chapel (then called the Children of the Blackfriars), the other major troupe of boy actors of the era. (The Children of Paul's had stopped performing plays around 1606, and the Children of the Chapel/Blackfriars may have acquired the play... less