Twelfth Night is one of the most commonly performed Shakesperean comedies, and was also successful during Shakespeare's lifetime. The first surviving account of the play's performance comes from a diary entry written early in 1602, talking about the play and its basic plot. The play is believed to have been written in 1601, not long after Hamlet was completed. Despite the play's initial success, it was rarely performed in the late 17th century; this unpopularity continued until the mid-18th century, when in was revived and was moderately popular until the 19th century, when the play began to fare better.A successful production of the play from the early 19th century added a great number of songs and funny scenes lifted from other Shakespeare works; even the betrothal masque from The Tempest, which seems like it would be entirely out of place in a play like Twelfth Night, was included. The play was first performed in New York in 1804; and, in 1865, the first known production of the play with one actress performing the roles of Sebastian and Viola was staged. Of course, this development required some alteration of the text; but the experiment was later copied by Jean Anouilh, who adapted the play for French audiences