Laurence Clinch (-1812) was an Irish actorJ. W. C. (John Wilson Croker), ″The Dramatic Writers of Ireland - No. VI: Richard Brinsley Sheridan″, The Dublin University Magazine, Vol. XLVI, No. CCLXXI, James McGlashan, Dublin, 1855, at p. 41. and accomplished in both tragedy and comedy. The popular farce St Patrick's Day was written and performed to showcase his particular talent.
Early career in Ireland A native of Dublin,Philip Highfill, Kalman A. Burnim and Edward A. Laughans, A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, Southern Illinois University Press, 1973, Vol. 3, p. 335. Clinch gave his first professional stage performances in February 1768 when, billed as "A Young Gentleman", he appeared at the Crow Street Theatre in Henry Mossop's productions of Thomas Otway's The Orphan and Venice Preserved as, respectively, Castalio and Jaffier.John O'Keeffe, Recollections of the Life of John O'Keeffe, written by himself, Henry Colburn, London, 1826, Vol. I, p. 295; John C. Greene, Theatre in Dublin, 1745-1820, A History, Lehigh University Press, 2012, Vol. 2, pp. 1134-1135. He was considered well suited to the roles of such tragic lovers, "his figure being tall, well-made and pleasing, his voice powerful and melodious, and his manner compounded of the modest and agreeable".Stamford Mercury, 22 October 1772, p. 3. Such attributes also recommended him for the part of Lothario in Nicholas Rowe's The Fair Penitent, which he played in the following May.Greene, Vol. 2, p. 1149.
In 1769 he was cast by Mossop in Thomas King’s Wit's Last Stand and Charles Johnson's The Country LassesGreene, Vol. 2, pp. 1188 and 1217. and demonstrated a talent for comedy that sprang from his own light-hearted nature, later recalled by the actor Michael Kelly's characterisation of him as "the facetious Larry Clinch".Reminiscences of Michael Kelly of the King's Theatre and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 2nd Edition, Vol. 2, Henry Colburn, London, 1826, p. 322. In the same year he played Edgar in King Lear and had the spoken title-role in Mossop's production of the semi-opera King Arthur.Greene, Vol. 2, pp. 1219, 1222.
When Mossop's financial difficulties resulted in disbandment of his company, Clinch was engaged by Thomas Dawson and Robert Mahon who had undertaken management of Dublin's Capel Street Theatre. He played for them in the 1770-1771 season alongside Charles Macklin, William Thomas Lewis, John O'Keeffe and Elizabeth Younge,O'Keeffe, Vol. I, p. 167; Greene, Vol. 2, p. 1238. and in 1772 he ventured to England.
Engagement by Garrick
After performing in Norwich, he was engaged by David Garrick at Drury Lane and in October 1772 appeared there in the title-role in Nathaniel Lee’s Alexander the Great.The Town and Country Magazine or Universal Repository of Knowledge, Instruction and Entertainment, Vol. IV, A. Hamilton junior, London, 1772, p. 545. On that occasion he was criticised for insufficient attention to "the dignity of blank verse" but, subject to correcting such deficiency, was forecast to be "a very considerable acquisition to the theatrical world".Stamford Mercury, 22 October 1772, p. 3. That he was "a young actor well worthy the patronage of the public" was acknowledged when, in March 1773, he played Alberto in the first production of John Home's tragedy Alonzo,Caledonian Mercury, 8 March 1773, p. 1. but shortly afterwards he fell out with Garrick.
The pair had been on sufficiently warm terms that Clinch was allowed the freedom of Garrick's box at Drury Lane. One evening he entered the box when the manager was seated at the front with several ladies and, sensing the private nature of the occasion, he remained at the back waiting to leave the box when the current scene concluded. Becoming aware of his presence, Garrick rose and removed the hat from Clinch's head, pointing to the presence of ladies. An embarrassed Clinch withdrew and sent Garrick a note requesting an apology or a meeting. An apology was forthcoming, but Garrick did not renew his contract.J. D. Herbert, Irish Varieties of the Last Fifty Years, First Series, William Joy, London, 1836, pp. 34-35.
Engagement by Sheridan He made several appearances at the Theatre Royal in King Street, Bristol, in August and September 1773, including a benefit performance in the title-role in Arthur Murphy's Alzuma.Bath Chronicle, 12 August 1773, p. 2, 28 August 1773, p. 1, 2 September 1773, p. 3, and 9 September 1773, p. 3. Returning to Ireland, he acted at Cork and Limerick in 1774,Highfill, Vol. 3, p. 335. but then resumed his career in London where he joined Richard Brinsley Sheridan's company at Covent Garden. His friendship with Sheridan's actor father, with whom he had played in Dublin, may have been influential in his obtaining this engagement.Reminiscences of Michael Kelly, Vol. 2, p. 322.
In the autumn of 1774 his portrayal of Alexander the Great was considered a qualified improvement on his appearance in the part two years earlier ("he gave the passion utterance more naturally than before but he was extremely deficient in the tender scenes"). However, his later performances as Richmond in Shakespeare's Richard III and as Pharamond in Beaumont and Fletcher's Philaster were commended and he was thought to have "caught the manner" (if not the "persuasive delivery") of Spranger Barry,The Hibernian Magazine, or Compendium of Entertaining Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1774), p. 677. with whom he had appeared in Murphy's The Grecian Daughter somewhat earlier.William Dunlap, Memoirs of the Life of George Frederick Cooke, esq., late of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, D. Longworth, New York, 1813, Vol. I, p. 42.
On 17 January 1775 Sheridan staged The Rivals, the first play from his own pen. It was poorly received, partly on account of John Lee's performance in the part of Sir Lucius O'Trigger which rendered the character "ridiculous and disgusting". Sheridan extensively rewrote the play and presented it again on 28 January with Clinch in the role of O'Trigger. This time the production was widely acclaimed: Clinch's performance attracted particularly favourable attention and "perhaps gave the tone to all the subsequent impersonations" of O'Trigger.James Boaden, Memoirs of Mrs Siddons, H. C. Carey, I. Lea and E. Littell, Philadelphia, 1827, Vol. 1, p. 122.
In gratitude for Clinch's contribution to the play's success, Sheridan produced the afterpiece St Patrick's Day, or The Scheming Lieutenant, written in the space of 48 hours "expressly to afford opportunity for Clinch’s peculiar talents". This two-act comedy was staged for Clinch's benefit on 2 May 1775 when he played the farcical hero Lieutenant O'Connor.Highfill, Vol. 3, p. 336; Justin Huntly McCarthy, "Hours with Great Irishmen", United Ireland, 29 May 1886, p. 6. The play achieved enduring popularity, George IV requesting that it and Sheridan's The Duenna were performed for him during his visit to Ireland in 1821."Memoir of Richard Brinsley Sheridan", The London Magazine, or Gentlemen's Monthly Intelligence, Vol. XLVII (November 1778); Morning Post, 27 August 1821, p. 2.
Clinch's tour de force as Lucius O'Trigger "established his reputation"J. W. C., p. 41. but, after his performance in the role at Covent Garden, there seems to be no record of his again playing the part. Although he appeared in several later productions of The Rivals, in each case this was in the role of Capt. Jack Absolute, which he first performed at Liverpool's Royal Theatre in August 1775.R. J. Broadbent, Annals of the Liverpool Stage from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Benjamin Brown, New York and London, 1908, p. 65. He continued at Covent Garden in the following season, was again at Liverpool in the summer, and played at Cork in the autumn of 1776.Highfill, Vol. 3, p. 336.
Return to Dublin According to The Thespian Dictionary of 1802, Clinch became "the hero of the Irish stage"Anon., The Thespian Dictionary, or Dramatic Biography of the Nineteenth Century, T. Hurst, London, 1802 (unpaginated), entry for CLINCH (LAURENCE). on returning to his home country following his Covent Garden success. Following an appearance at Cork he joined the company managed by Thomas Ryder at Dublin's Crow Street Theatre, then owned by Spranger Barry. Barry died soon afterwards and ownership of the theatre passed to his widow who, like her late husband, had appeared with Clinch in The Grecian Daughter at Covent Garden.Dunlap, Vol. I, p. 42.
In November 1776 Clinch was in the casts of Alexander the Great, George Colman's The Jealous Wife, and Congreve's The Double Dealer. In the last he played Mellefont while his (and Mellefont's supposed) friend Thomas Sheridan played Maskwell.Hibernian Journal, 1 November 1776, p. 1, 15 November 1776, p. 4, and 18 November 1776, p. 4. In March 1777 he was Capt. Absolute in Ryder's production of The Rivals, the role of O'Trigger being taken by Robert Owenson and Jenny Barsanti reprising her portrayal of Lydia Languish, the character she had played in the play's first run at Covent Garden.Saunders's News-Letter, Dublin, 21 March 1773, p. 1. Clinch's appearances for Ryder were regular, and he was allowed annual benefit nights; his benefit in May 1778 was a performance of Oliver Goldsmith's The Good-Natur'd Man, Clinch delivering the original prologue written by Samuel Johnson.Greene, Vol. 3, p. 1797.
Thomas Ryder's financial circumstances were perilous and he was often unable to pay his company. In May 1779, at a command performance of The Fair Penitent for the Irish Viceroy, the Earl of Buckinghamshire, the majority of Ryder's cast refused to proceed with the play unless an immediate instalment of their wage arrears was forthcoming. According to the Dramatic Mirror of 1808 and later accounts, Clinch appeared before the curtain to present the players' demand in this respect, whereupon the Duke left the theatre.Thomas Gilliland, The Dramatic Mirror, containing the history of the stage from the earliest period to the present time, C. Chapple, London, 1808, Vol. II, p. 962; J. T. Gilbert, A History of the City of Dublin, McGlashan and Gill, Dublin, 1859, Vol. II, p. 203; "Actors and the Drama: Celebrated Actors of Irishmen - No. 1", The Warder, Dublin, 30 June 1866, p. 5. However, the contemporary Hibernian Journal reported that the disgruntled players' spokesman was the actor Richard Sparks (son of Isaac Sparks) and that Clinch only appeared "to exculpate himself from any part in the affair".Hibernian Journal, 24 May 1779, quoted by Greene, Vol. 3, at p. 1852. Clinch may have enjoyed greater financial security than many of his fellow players because around this time he married "a spinster of good fortune".Anon., The Thespian Dictionary, entry for CLINCH (LAURENCE).
From late 1780 Ryder was in competition with the actor-manager Richard Daly who, having acquired Dublin's Smock Alley Theatre, recruited for his company many of Ryder's key players (including Jenny Barsanti, whom Daly married). In February 1781 Clinch appeared at Smock Alley in the title-role in Othello,Dublin Evening Post, 20 February 1781, p. 3. and he continued to perform in leading parts there until the season closed in May.Hibernian Journal, 21 May 1781, p. 1. For the following season he was engaged by Daly at a weekly salary of ten guineas (more than twice the amount for which Daly had signed John Philip Kemble), but after three weeks he withdrew from the engagement, alleging "improper treatment" by Daly,Saunders's News-Letter, 26 January 1782, p. 2. and in March 1782 he appeared on successive nights at Crow Street as Edgar in King Lear and as Rhadamistus in Arthur Murphy's Zenobia.Greene, Vol. 3, pp. 2053. He then continued with Ryder's company at Crow Street for the balance of the season.Greene, Vol. 3, pp. 2054-2076.
Management at Crow Street