It Wasn't Me!

Charles Lamb was a successful writer and critic, who wrote an extremely unsuccessful stage play.

"Mr H." is a farce, which had the good fortune to open at London's Drury Lane Theatre.  The audience hated it.  They hissed and booed at the words pouring from the actors.  The play was a complete failure.

Charles Lamb was in the theatre pit, as his play was acted out on stage.  He joined in the efforts of his audience, and verbally abused his own theatrical creation.

After the play, Charles was asked why he had joined the audience's condemnation of his play, and openly hissed at his own work.

Charles replied that he  had to hiss at his own work because he was "so damnably afraid of being taken for the author."

 
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