over management of Covent Garden in 1839, then with them to Drury Lane in 1842. From 1843 he spent four years at the Haymarket with Benjamin Webster, before returning to Vestris and Matthews at the Lyceum, where he stayed until leaving London in 1852. During his time with Vestris, he undertook the roles of "playwright, librettist, general advisor and superintendent of the decorative departments". Olympic Revels was Planché's first example of "that form of travestie which is commonly described as 'classical'—which deals with the characteristics and adventures of gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, of the Greek and Latin mythology and fable", a genre of which he was later credited as originator. Planché used costume for comedic effect, not by the costumes being comic, but by the incongruity of realistic historical dress being juxtaposed with the actions of the actors. For example, Olympic Revels opens with the gods of Olympus in classical Greek dress playing whist. By 1836 these classical burlesques had become so popular that other writers were copying them. Feeling the need to do something different, Planché turned to a translation of the féerie folie (French: fairy tale) Riquet à la Houppe, which he had written some years earlier. The play was a success, and became the first of 23 "fairy extravaganzas", most of which were based on the fairy tales of Madame d'Aulnoy. Planché's fascination with her work led the press to refer to him as Madame d'Aulnoy's "preux chevalier" (French: devoted knight) and similar epithets. Planché's coined the term "extravaganza", defining it as "the whimsical treatment of a poetical subject". In 1879 two of his friends published his extravaganzas, together with some of his other works, as a five-volume set, entitled The Extravaganzas of J. R. Planché, esq., (Somerset Herald) 1825–1871. The fairy tales were not originally children's stories, but sophisticated works intended for an adult audience. Planché's scholarly approach was exhibited in this area as well; he "translated two volumes of fairy tales by Mme D'Aulnoy, Perrault, and others, which were for the first time given in their integrity with biographical and historical notes and dissertations." Borrowing from the French again, Planché introduced the revue to British theatre, as a commentary on recent events, particularly events in the theatre. His first revue, Success; or, a hit if you like it, was produced in 1825. He wrote another seven over the next 30 years, a peak