Samuel Ireland publishes a collection ofShakespearean forgeries in hisMiscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments Under the Hand and Seal of William Shakespeare (dated this year but actually produced on 24 December 1795).Edmond Malone exposes them in hisAn Inquiry into the Authenticity of Certain Miscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments on 31 March, and the forged 'Shakespearean' play,Vortigern and Rowena, is able to sustain just a single performance at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, on 2 April. Ireland's son,William Henry, confesses to the fraud inAn Authentic Account of the Shakespearean Manuscripts.
January –Charles Lamb ends a six-week spell in a mental asylum atHoxton (London).
July 30 – A performance of a historical drama,Jane Shore, is given inSydney,Australia; the playbill, printed by George Hughes, is the earliest known surviving item printed in that country.[2]