Richard III (play) The earliest certain performance occurred on 1633, when Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria watched it on the Queen's birthday. Colley Cibber produced the most successful of the Restoration adaptations of Shakespeare with his version of "Richard III", at Drury Lane starting in 1700. Cibber himself played the role till 1739, and his version was on stage for the next century and a half. It contained the lines "Off with his head; so much for Buckingham" – possibly the most famous Shakespearean line that Shakespeare did not write – and "Richard's himself again!". The original Shakespearean version returned in a
Susannah Maria Cibber the scene of one of their trysts, in order to gather testimony for the lawsuit. In any event, Cibber was awarded a paltry £10 in damages. The following year, Cibber brought a second case against Sloper for "detaining" his wife. In fact, Mrs Cibber and Sloper had run off together, and had a daughter, Susannah Maria (Molly). This time Cibber was awarded £500. In 1740 Mrs Cibber sang in the world premiere of her brother's masque "Alfred". She moved to Dublin, and in the autumn of 1741 for a busy season at the Aungier Street Theatre with her good friend