Sarah Cheney first came to notice when she appeared at the Drury Lane Theatre in October 1763 in a play by William Congreve.

She worked regularly, commanding two pounds a week, and, in 1765, she appeared in the first performance of Samuel Foote's play, The Commissary, at the Haymarket Theatre.

[2] In the autumn, she was appearing as Mrs Gardner in the title role of Polly Honeycombe at Covent Garden with her new husband.

William Gardner went to work in numerous secondary roles and died in 1790 whilst his wife was abroad.

In 1795, there was a benefit for her at The Haymarket after she had appeared there in her own play entitled Mrs Doggrell in her Attitudes, or, The Effects of a West India Ramble.