The Taming of the Shrew, 1780 : Mrs. Wrighten as Katharina in Burgoyne's comic-opera version: Katharina and Petruchio.

This Katharina must have been more beautiful, lively, and smart than many. Mary Ann Wrighten (1751?-1796) excelled both as a soubrette and singer, having an incredibly versatile career with both Garrick and Sheridan at Drury Lane and Covent Garden, and in America. In 1786 John Williams in The Children of Thespis found she could "Seduce us with simp'ring, and win us with smiles" adding "She adds ev'ry grace to the force of a jest,/Gives sense to her sound, and to wit a new zest." His verses go on: "Pray Fate that she long may be sportive on earth,/ The prop of burlettas, and mistress of mirth;/Of female comedians an excellent sample." However, though these virtues would suit Shakespeare's comedy, the previous year critics felt they were less appropriate to the role of one of Macbeth's witches. Her private life was very hectic and painful, leading her autobiography: "An Apology for he Life and Conduct of Mrs Mary Wrighten, Late a Favourite Actress and Singer, of Drury Lane Theatre, and Vauxhall Gardens." This engraving by Thornthwaite, after J. H. Ramberg, was published as a plate in BellÂ’s Shakespeare, 1786.