The Fair Penitent appears earlier in "Don Quixote" by Cervantes. In this story Lothario is urged by his lifelong friend Anselmo to attempt to seduce his wife in order to test her faithfulness. At first most unwilling he eventually enters into the scheme with skill and success. This earlier Lothario is a successful seducer. Malcolm Goldstein edited "The Fair Penitent" for a modern edition in 1969. Critics, both traditional and modern, have debated whether Calista is actually "penitent" for her infidelity. The Fair Penitent The Fair Penitent is Nicholas Rowe's stage adaptation of the tragedy "The Fatal Dowry," the Philip Massinger and Nathan
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