# Elfrid

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{{Short description|Play by Aaron Hill}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox play
| name              = Elfrid
| image             = File:Aaron Hill, Elfrid or the Fair Inconstant (1710) - title page.jpg
| image_size        =
| caption           = Title page of the first edition of ''Elfrid'' (1710)
| writer            = [Aaron Hill](/source/Aaron_Hill_(writer))
| setting           = 
| date of premiere  = 3 January 1710<ref>Burling p.48</ref>
| original language = English
| place             = [Theatre Royal, Drury Lane](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Drury_Lane)
| series            = 
| subject           = 
| genre             = Tragedy
}}
'''''Elfrid: or The Fair Inconstant''''', generally shortened to '''''Elfrid''''', is a 1710 [tragedy](/source/tragedy) by the British writer [Aaron Hill](/source/Aaron_Hill_(writer)).

Hill wrote the work in less than a fortnight. Set in [Saxon England](/source/Saxon_England) it featured [Barton Booth](/source/Barton_Booth) as Athelwold, Charles Powell as King Edgar and [Lucretia Bradshaw](/source/Lucretia_Bradshaw) as Elfrid.<ref>Gerrard p.26</ref> Concerned about the play's modest reception, Hill wrote an [afterpiece](/source/afterpiece) entitled '''''The Walking Statue''''' which proved to be more popular than the main play, and was revived numerous times.

In 1731 Hill reworked the play and staged it under a new title '''''Athelwold''''' at Drury Lane. It marked his return to the London stage after an eight year absence. Although he hoped to persuade [Robert Wilks](/source/Robert_Wilks) to star in the title role, it ended up being played by [Roger Bridgewater](/source/Roger_Bridgewater). Although [Alexander Pope](/source/Alexander_Pope) tried to generate interest, the new version lasted for three nights and met a largely poor reception.<ref>Gerrard p.146</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992.
* Gerrard, Christine. ''Aaron Hill: The Muses' Projector, 1685-1750''. Oxford University Press, 2003.

{{Authority control}}

Category:1710 plays
Category:Plays by Aaron Hill
Category:West End plays
Category:British tragedy plays

{{18thC-play-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elfrid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfrid) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfrid?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.