The Shadow! A Mother's Dream — Cumberland's Minor Theatre No. 66 (1835)

Cumberland's Minor Theatre No. 68: "The Shadow! A Mother's Dream" *The Shadow! A Mother's Dream* is a romantic drama in three acts by George Almar, presented with performance notes and stage directions. The plot turns on a premonitory dream: the Countess of Cronenberg dreams her son Basil will be assassinated abroad and summons him home to Austria. A mistaken identity ensues when Basil is mistaken for Angelo, a fugitive rogue. Angelo's accomplice, the Venetian lady Verona, coerces him to murder the sleeping count, steal his papers, and assume his identity to escape justice. Angelo travels to Cronenberg's estate and wins acceptance as her son, becoming engaged to Benita. When a gondolier named Guiacomo—who had rescued the real Basil dying—finally delivers a bloodwritten letter revealing the murder, Angelo faces exposure. Verona poisons herself; Angelo discovers he is actually Cronenberg's legitimate son and his victim's brother. Comic relief derives from twin brothers, the Gobbos Doloroso, whose confusion mirrors the play's central identity theme.