Glossary

after-piece (shorter, often comic play after the main play) 

ben (benefit night, when one actor receives all the profits, minus expenses) 

bespeak/bespoken (a performance requested by a patron)

blacklegs  (con men; cardsharps)

blunt (funds, cash)

booth, boothers (a makeshift playhouse; traveling players who perform in a booth)

codicil  (stipulation in a will that certain conditions are required before an heir can inherit)

colorman  (purveyor of paint and other artist's supplies)

conveyancer (one licensed to draw up legal deeds)

cove (fellow, but most often a pigeon; gull; conman's mark)

crank (brave, confident)

crim-con ("criminal conversation," legal euphemism for adultery; one of the few grounds for divorce, if "proven")

criollos  (Sp.) (Creoles; Spanish or French blood, born in the islands)

dress (costume, in theatrical context)

fairing  (inexpensive trinket bought or won at a fair)

fibbers (boxers)

fizz (champagne; sparkling wine)

flash (flamboyant, more gaudy than strictly tasteful) 

gag (performance; as in gagging, strolling from venue to venue)

indorser (slur for a homosexual)

lay an information  (make an accusation against someone to a magistrate, a prelude to filing criminal charges)

line of business  (the kind of parts a player specializes in)

link-boys (young men hired to link arms and protect pedestrians in the street)

(the) main (the principal production of the evening, before the after-piece)

molly (gay man)

molly house (Georgian equivalent of a gay bar)

Mr. Sims at the Harp (theatrical booking agent working out of London, finding places for unemployed actors in provincial companies)

panto (the English pantomime, evolved from Italian Commedia dell'arte)

patent houses  (playhouses designated "Theatre Royal." The two in London (Drury Lane and Covent Garden) were the only ones licensed to perform serious drama in the city)  

phiz (face) 

pomping folk (performers)  

sharing republic (collective of strolling players with no nominal leader, splitting duties and profits) 

sharper (gamesman, hustler) 

strollers (traveling actors)

supernumary (small supporting part, and/or the actor playing it) 

utility (line of business for an actor who can play many kinds of parts)