Nicholas Rowe (writer) said to have suggested to Samuel Richardson the character of Clarissa Harlowe, as Lothario suggested Lovelace. Samuel Johnson noted of "The Fair Penitent" that, "The story is domestic, and therefore easily received by the imagination, and assimilated to common life; the diction is exquisitely harmonious, and soft or spritely as occasion requires." In 1704, Rowe tried his hand at comedy, producing "The Biter" at Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was unsuccessful, and Rowe returned to tragedy in "Ulysses" (1706). According to Johnson, this play was to share the fate of many such plays based on mythological heroes, as, "We have been
What the Butler Saw (play) May 1987, produced by Shaun Sutton, and directed by Barry Davis. Channel 4's "Blow Your Mind – See a Show" series included a short extract from the play. Featuring Brian Cox as Doctor Prentice, Frances Barber as Mrs Prentice, and Clive Owen as Nicholas Beckett, it was transmitted on 18 September 1995. The play was revived in 1994 at The Royal Exchange Theatre, directed by Robert Delamere and run from 7 April to 7 May. In the same year, a Royal National Theatre production of the play premiered at Theatre Royal, Bath. The production moved to the RNT′s Lyttelton Theatre