Jane Lucas

Jane Lucas ( 1693 – 1707 ) was an English stage actress and singer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.

Career Lucas was a member of the United Company based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane between 1693 and 1707. She remained loyal to Rich during her time as a performer. By late 1696, Lucas was billed as herself in performing her signature song, By Moonlight on the Green. Reported to be a Scottish tune with lyrics by Thomas D’Urfey, Lucas performed the song with sexual overtones.

On 13 May 1698, Camille d'Hostun, French ambassador to the Court of St James's, staged a showcase of French music and dances in Kensington for William III. The showcase was an act of cultural diplomacy, as France and England had signed peace treaties ending the Nine Years' War in the autumn of the previous year.

An order issued by the Lord Chamberlain on 31 December effectively mandated that all operatic or musical productions could only be performed at the Queen's Theatre, and only stage entertainments not set to music could be performed at Drury Lane. The purpose of this order was to address growing competition between the two theatres.

Accusation of assault against Colley Cibber In July 1697, Lucas brought a suit for assault against fellow actor Colley Cibber, resulting in Cibber's imprisonment. The previous year, Lucas had performed a minor role in Cibber's play, Love's Last Shift.

Cibber wrote to the Earl of Sunderland, Lord Chamberlain, seeking his release on the grounds that Lucas had not sought Sunderland's permission to have Cibber arrested. Theatre historian Fidelis Morgan posits that Lucas likely continued to work with Cibber because little alternative work existed for actresses at the time. Sue in The Cornish Comedy by George Powell (1696) Lucy in The Perjured Husband by Susanna Centlivre (1700) Parley in Sir Harry Wildair by George Farquhar (1701) Mademoiselle in The Funeral by Richard Steele (1701) Clora in All for the Better by Francis Manning (1702) Malapert in Vice Reclaimed by Richard Wilkinson (1703) Lettice in The Lying Lover by Richard Steele (1703) Flora in The Fair Example by Richard Estcourt (1703) Mrs Edging in The Careless Husband by Colley Cibber (1704) Lucy in Tunbridge Walks by Thomas Baker (1707)