[1] This two-act farce, which was Murphy's first play, satirized London's amateur spouting clubs.
[2] Like George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham's The Rehearsal (1671), the play relies, for much of its humor, on impersonation and personal satire in the acting.
[3] Comedian and pantomimist Henry Woodward first performed the title character, Dick, and remained popular in the part for years.
Act I introduces Wingate, a character described in the dramatis personae as "a passionate old Man, particularly fond of Money and Figures, and involuntarily uneasy about his Son, Dick."
Because acting without royal authority was illegal, Dick's theatrical activities regularly get him in trouble.