The Runaway is a five-act comedy written by the English dramatist Hannah Cowley. First performed on February 15, 1776, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, it marked Cowley’s debut as a playwright.
The production was staged under the management of David Garrick, who mentored Cowley during the play's development. Garrick is credited with providing significant editorial oversight to the script and writing the play's epilogue. The play was a commercial and critical success, running for 17 nights during its first season, which was considered a substantial achievement for a new writer at the time.
The plot of The Runaway centers on Harriet, a young woman who flees her home to escape an arranged marriage orchestrated by her uncle. She seeks refuge at the country estate of Mr. Hargrave, where she is eventually discovered and becomes entangled in the romantic and social lives of the Hargrave family. The play utilizes the conventions of sentimental comedy, a popular genre in the late 18th century that emphasized moral virtue, emotional sensitivity, and the eventual triumph of young lovers over domestic obstacles.
The play is historically significant for launching Hannah Cowley’s career, as she went on to become one of the few successful female playwrights of the Georgian era, later known for works such as The Belle's Stratagem (1780). The Runaway is often cited in studies of 18th-century theatre for its depiction of female agency and its critique of forced marriages within the context of the period's social hierarchies.