All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely critters–at least as far as Mrs. Midnight’s Animal Comedians were concerned. The rage during the 1753 London season, this troupe plied its trade in a small, elaborately decorated theater named the Castle Tavern. The show starred poet Christopher Smart, who appeared in drag as Mrs. Midnight and orchestrated the splendid entertainments his trained dogs and monkeys performed in period dress and powdered periwigs. 

The playbill advertised battle reenactments and dances, the great “Ballet Dance” being the troupe’s greatest coup. A masterpiece of staging, it presented the siege of a miniature fortified town. Monkey defenders “manned” its ramparts, clutching halberds with steely resolve. The attack swiftly followed. An army of dogs stole upon padded feet, prancing forward, dancing backward, climbing ladders, vaulting walls, all the while gripping swords in eager muzzles. Simian wit met canine bravery but proved no match; the victors soon hoisted their standard aloft as the vanquished doffed their tiny caps. Soon thereafter the familiar notes of “God Save the King” sounded in the theater, accompanied by barks and yowls, hoots and howls.

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