The play marked a conscious switch by Gay towards an apolitical and distant past, after his contemporary work The Mohocks had faced controversy and censorship the previous year.
[2] Robert Wilks, a celebrated actor and manager of the Drury Lane Theatre, appeared as Chaucer.
[4] It had been expected to premiere in April 1713, but was delayed by the lengthy run of Joseph Addison's Cato which had been widely acclaimed.
[8] On 19 January 1730 the play, substantially rewritten by Gay who was now celebrated for his The Beggar's Opera, opened at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre.
Other cast members included Thomas Chapman, Anthony Boheme, William Milward, Charles Hulett and Elizabeth Younger.