on the relationship between Wilkins's play and A Yorkshire Tragedy; some of have seen one play as a source for the other, or even the work of the same author, while others regard the two dramas as essentially separate works. Authorship In the Stationers' Register of 2 May 1608, the entry for A Yorkshire Tragedy ascribes authorship to "William Shakespere." The title page of the published quarto repeats the attribution to "W. Shakspeare," and states that the play was acted by the King's Men (Shakespeare's company) at the Globe Theatre. While some early critics allowed the possibility of Shakespeare's authorship, most, over the past two centuries, have doubted the attribution. The modern critical consensus favours the view that the play was written by Thomas Middleton, citing internal evidence from the text of the play. Cases for the authorship of Thomas Heywood or George Wilkins have been made, but have convinced few commentators. Performance history The title page of the quarto claims that the play was first acted by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre (though these sources are not always reliable). No other record of historical performance exists. In the modern age, edited adaptations of the play have been performed by the Birmingham Repertory Company (1958, directed by Bernard Hepton), the National Theatre (1987, directed by Stephen Unwin), and by Tough Theatre at the White Bear Theatre Club (2010, directed by Andy Brunskill). Characters Oliver, Ralph and Sam, serving-men of a house in Yorkshire A boy The Wife The Husband Four men A servant The Master of a college The Son A maid A lusty servant Knight, a magistrate Officers Synopsis Note: This synopsis follows the scene divisions from Stanley Wells' edition of the play in Thomas Middleton: The Collected Works (eds John Lavagnino and Gary Taylor, Oxford, 2007). Other editions divide the play into ten scenes, rather than eight, by splitting Scene Five into three separate scenes. Scene 1: A house in Yorkshire The play opens with a conversation among three servants of an anonymous Yorkshire gentleman, who is returning to his country house after a long sojourn in London. Sam, who has returned with his master, explains to Ralph and Oliver that their master has abandoned his local fiancée to marry another young woman: "he's married, beats his wife, and has two or three children by her." Sam also details his master's fondness for drunkenness, and sets