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Son of George Dance the Elder, who worked as an architect and city surveyor, Love was himself a cricketer, being a member of Richmond CC. Richmond was a leading club in the 1740s and Love may have represented Surrey too. However, no details have survived of his playing career.

He was also likely the founder of the Theatre Royal in Richmond upon Thames, which he managed from 1766 to 1773. In 1763, at Drury Lane in London, he played the role of Falstaff, for which he became best known as an actor, his authorial pseudonym serving also as his stage name. He performed, too, in both Dublin and Edinburgh, of which he was a sometime manager. Invited to Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1762, he retained a connection to it for the rest of his life.

As a writer, Love met success with such Rome-inspired Pantomimes as The Witches; or, Harlequin Cherokee (1762), The Rites of Hecate; or, Harlequin from the Moon (1763) and The Hermit; or, Harlequin at Rhodes (1766), in addition to Cricket. His earliest work was Pamela (1742).

Love was also the brother of George Dance the Younger, who took on the same occupation as his father. It is probable that both the Younger and the Elder helped to construct the Richmond Theatre. According to Dorothy Stroud, "references to the building are vague and two of them, while agreeing as to sponsors, differ as to the name of the designer. A third gives it to [David] Garrick and it is evident that there was a good deal of confusion as to the various participants."