Charity (play)

Charity is a drama in four acts by W. S. Gilbert that explores the issue of a woman who had lived with a man as his wife without ever having married. The play analyses and critiques the double standard in the Victorian era concerning the treatment of men and women who had sex outside of marriage, anticipating the "problem plays" of Shaw and Ibsen. It opened on 3 January 1874 at the Haymarket Theatre in London, where Gilbert had previously presented his 'fairy comedies' The Palace of Truth, Pygmalion and Galatea, and The Wicked World. Charity ran for about 61 performances, closing on 14 March 1874, and received tours and revivals thereafter.

Gilbert created several plays for the Haymarket Theatre, managed by John Baldwin Buckstone and starring William Hunter Kendal and his wife, Madge Robertson Kendal, sister of the playwright Thomas William Robertson, in the early 1870s. In Charity, Gilbert wanted to use what he perceived as Mrs. Kendal's capabilities as a tragedienne, and, after abandoning his original plan of a vindictive villainess, he composed one of his most powerful women's roles for her in this play.

Play

Play may refer to:

In literature and publications

In films

In television

Play (Joanna MacGregor album)

Play is a 2002 album by Joanna MacGregor. The album was released on the SoundCircus label and was a nominee for the Mercury Music Prize.

References

Play (Robyn song)

"Play" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn from her second studio album My Truth (1999). Robyn wrote the track in collaboration with Ulf Lindström and Johan Ekhé, who also helmed production. BMG Sweden released it as the album's second single on 21 July 1999 with the non-album song "Good Thang" as its B-side. Musically, "Play" contains some world music influences and a "playful" vibe.

"Play" received positive critical response and became Robyn's seventh consecutive top 40 entry on the Sverigetopplistan singles chart, where it peaked at number 31. The singer performed the song live while promoting the parent album, but the single itself received limited promotion. As with the album, "Play" was not serviced outside of Sweden.

Background and composition

"Play" was written by Robyn, Ulf Lindström and Johan Ekhé. Lindström and Ekhé recorded Robyn's vocals and produced the track at Lifeline Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Almnils Erson, Pär-Ola Claesson, Gunilla Markström and Olle Markström played the strings and Niklas Gabrielsson provided handclaps, while Lindström and Ekhé played all other instruments. The duo also managed arrangement and mixing; both these tasks were done at Lifeline Studios. Britta Bergström and Angela Holland sang backing vocals alongside Robyn. Björn Engelmann and Henrik Jonsson were enlisted to master the track at Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm.

Charity (virtue)

In Christian theology charity, Latin caritas, is by Thomas Aquinas understood as "the friendship of man for God", which "unites us to God". He holds it as "the most excellent of the virtues". Further, Aquinas holds that "the habit of charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor".

Some delineate charity to mean only benevolent giving, while others, such as Roman Catholics, have multiple interrelated meanings (i.e. charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God).

Caritas: altruistic love

In Christian theology charity is the greatest of the three theological virtues. Thomas Aquinas does not simply equate charity to "love", which he holds as a passion, not a virtue; rather, translators use the word "friendship", as stated above. This is in contrast with the following:

Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. Confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word "love". The love that is caritas is distinguished by its origin, being divinely infused into the soul, and by its residing in the will rather than emotions, regardless of what emotions it stirs up. According to Aquinas, charity is an absolute requirement for happiness, which he holds as man's last goal.