The Recruiting Serjeant is a burletta

Burletta

A burletta , also sometimes burla or burlettina, is a musical term generally denoting a brief comic Italian opera...

 by composer Charles Dibdin

Charles Dibdin

Charles Dibdin was a British musician, dramatist, novelist, actor and songwriter. The son of a parish clerk, he was born in Southampton on or before 4 March 1745, and was the youngest of a family of 18....

 and playwright Isaac Bickerstaff

Isaac Bickerstaffe

Isaac Bickerstaffe or Bickerstaff was an Irish playwright and Librettist.-Early life:Isaac John Bickerstaff was born in Dublin, on 26 September 1733, where his father John Bickerstaff held a government position overseeing the construction and management of sports fields including bowls and tennis...

. It premièred on 20 July 1770 at Ranelagh Gardens

Ranelagh Gardens

Ranelagh Gardens were public pleasure gardens located in Chelsea, then just outside London, England in the 18th century.-History:The Ranelagh Gardens were so called because they occupied the site of Ranelagh House, built in 1688-89 by the first Earl of Ranelagh, Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital ,...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Roles

Role	Premiere cast, 20 July 1770
Serjeant	Mr. Bannister
Countryman	Charles Dibdin
His wife	Mrs. Wrighten
His mother	Mrs. Dorman

Synopsis

A recruiting sergeant

Recruiting sergeant

A recruiting sergeant is a British or American soldier of the rank of sergeant who is tasked to enlist recruits. The term originated in the British army of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries....

 comes to a village seeking out new recruits. A countryman, Joe, living with his wife and mother, hears his stirring cry, and decides to enlist. The two women in his life seek to dissuade him, and follow him in when he meets with the sergeant. The sergeant is pleased to find a recruit, but Joe's mother begins cursing the sergeant out for trying to take her son away.

This too fails to dissuade either of them. The mother fetches his children from the house, and appeals to Joe not to leave them, and thus risk all of them ending up in the workhouse

Workhouse

In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...

. The sergeant starts to sign the man on, but Joe hesitates, asking for information about army life. They talk about women's love of the uniform, and when he asks about battles, sergeant explains "what a charming thing's a battle", cheerily describing everyone's gory death. ("Heads, and limbs, and bullets flying / Then the groans of soldiers dying...")

This terrifies the women, but Joe simply asks whether it's likely he himself will lose his head or limbs. "Not if you've good luck", says the sergeant. Joe begins to have second thoughts at this – he had wished to see a battle, but he has decided the sergeant's description of it is quite sufficient. His wife and mother are delighted – and then Joe explains the whole thing was revenge upon his wife for nagging him the night before when he wanted to go to the alehouse. She promises not to do so again, and they reconcile. The play ends with the sergeant buying Joe a drink, and all toasting King George.

External links

• Collection of the Most Esteemed Farces and Entertainments Performed on the British Stage. Contains the complete libretto.