The play was likely written n 1598, making it a contemporary of the Henry plays, As You Like It and Twelfth Night

In his copy of the First Folio, the King crossed out the play’s title, renaming it “Beatrice and Benedick”

Leonard Digges recorded “Let but Beatrice and Benedicke be seene, loe in a trice The Cockpit, Galleries, Boxes, are all full”

The play was a Much Ado and Measure for Measure mashup in which Benedick was Angelo’s brother. With multiple songs and dances. (Don’t ask me, the Restoration loved their musical mashups)

John Rich revived Much Ado at Covent Garden in 1721 after “Not [being] acted these Thirty Years.” He brought it back in 1737 and 1746. In 1748 David Garrick, at Drury Lane, began performing Benedick, a major role in his repertory until his retirement in 1776.

From the late Eighteenth century throughout the Nineteenth century, Beatrice was THE role. The role was played by Sarah Siddons in 1779 and Dorothea Jordan in 1797. Then in the Nineteenth century actresses such as Helena Faucit, Ellen Tree, Fanny Kemble, Charlotte Cushman, Laura Keene, Ellen Terry (above), Ada Rehan, and Julia Marlowe found success in the role. In the early part of the century, the portrayal of Beatrice was influenced by “true woman” of the cult of domesticity and in the later half of the century she became the New Woman of the suffrage movement.

As an example, check out some highlights from the long history of the play’s performance at the RSC

1965: Lynn Rudner and Tom Stokoe, directed by [?]; 1973: Pamela Gilbert and Kenneth Kantor, directed by Michael Finlayson; 1981: Joann Patton and John Reese, directed by Leslie Reidel; 1995: Becca Ruscher and Sheridan Crist, directed by Mark Rucker; 2003: Victoria Adams and Brian Vaughn, directed by Kate Buckley; 2010: Kymberly Mellen and David Ivers, directed by B.J. Jones; 2016: Ben Livingston and Kim Martin-Cotton, directed by David Ivers