English Restoration &

18th Century

King Charles II

1630-1685

Restoration Comedy

• A comedy of manners

• Ridiculed human failings

• Breaches of a "sophisticated code of manners"

• Established by the courtiers of Charles II

Ideal Gentleman1. Was well born

2. Well dressed

3. Poised and witty

4. Skilled in love making

5. Conduct several affairs simultaneously

6. Never boasted of his affairs

7. Always discreet

8. Never fell in love

9. Not jealous if his wife took a lover

Fashionable Young Lady

1. Familiar with the world of intrigue,

2. But did not become involved in it.

3. If she was a widow, she could take a

lover as long as she was not found

out

4. If she was married, she should not

expect constancy in her husband.

William Congreve

1670 - 1729

• Wrote 4 comedies

and 1 tragedy

• His masterpiece:

The Way of the

World (1700)

• Best example of

Restoration

Comedy

Way of the World

John Dryden

1631-1700

• Primarily a poet

• Critic

• Translator

• Playwright noted for his Neo-Classic Tragedies

• Major literary figureof Restoration England

All for Love

or “A World Well Lost”

1677• Dryden’s most often revived work

• Based on Shakespeare’s Anthony and

Cleopatra

• He took Shakespeare's episodic tragedy,

and turned it into a small cast climactic

tragedy which observes the unity of time

and place.

Episodic to Climactic

• 15 years of dramatic time into one 24 hour

day.

• Large cast (30 men and 4 women) into a

smaller and more manageable cast (6

men and 4 women).

• Scenes in Rome and Egypt into one

location: in front of the Temple of Isis in

Aleixandre, Egypt

The Actor-Manager

• Acting company owned and controlled by one man: the manager

• Usually was the leading actor

• Chose plays which best exhibited his abilities

• Wife was often the leading lady

• Remainder of the company was hired

• Managed the theatre in which they performed

David Garrick

1717-1779

• Actor with over 90

roles in his repertory

• Manager of Drury

Lane

• Playwright or

adapter

• Director and

designer

Women on the English Stage

• Were introduced during the Restoration

The Problems…

1. Acting was not socially acceptable

2. Few women roles in the standard repertory

3. New works, especially Restoration Comedy used more women

4. Women were often “retired” by their lover after a short life on stage

Nell Gwynn

1650-1687

• Most popular comic actress of the period

• Performed for only 4 years: 1665-1669

• Was mistress of King Charles

• Bore him two sons

• Was “retired” by order of the King

Legitimate theatre

• Only two theatres in London permitted to

present full length dramas

• Also known as Royal and Patent Theatres

• After the Licensing Act of 1737, the two

legitimate houses were Covent Garden

and Drury Lane

• The monopoly lasted for 183 years, from

1660 to 1843.

Legitimate Theatre

Today:

Theatre of the spoken word

Minor Theatres

A London playhouse which could not

perform "regular" drama

They could present…

1. Short plays (two or three act)

2. Operas

3. Melodramas

4. Illustrated lectures

Restoration Stage

1660

• A proscenium theatre with a deep

forestage or apron

• Proscenium framed the scenery

• Actors performed on the forestage

• Entrances were made through doors on

the apron

• Auditorium held about 700

Cross Section of Drury Lane

1672

1. Proscenium

2. Wings

3. Pit

4. Gallery

5. Boxes

Restoration Theatre

A Restoration Theatre

Richard Sheridan

1751-1816

• Playwrightremembered for his Sentimental Comedies

• Manager of Drury Lane

• Member of Parliament

• Most important work: The School for Scandal (1777)

The School for Scandal

John Gay

1685-1732

• Poet and Playwright

• Wrote political satire

• Most important work:

The Beggar’s Opera

(1728)

• Was a Ballad Opera

• Ran for 62 consecutive

performances

• First long run

The Beggar’s Opera

W. Hogarth’s Painting (1728)

Ballad or Italian Opera

• Ballad Opera: Music is adapted from

popular folk songs or bar room tunes

• Italian opera: Original music is composed

for the production

Beginning of American Theatre

1752- English actor Lewis

Hallam (1714-1756)

establishes a theatre in

Williamsburg, PA

They also perform in…

1. New York, NY

2. Philadelphia, PA

3. Charleston , SC

Drury Lane

1794-1809

• Capacity: 3,600

• Stage: 85’ wide by 92’

deep

• Proscenium: 43’ wide by

38’ high

• Theatre was too large

for drama

18th Century – Restoration

Theatre

Drury Lane Burns

1809

Royal Drottningholm Theatre

Stockholm, Sweden

• Small court theatre

• Built in 1766

• Closed in 1792

• Rediscovered in 1920

• Reopened in 1922

• Working example of a 18th century court theatre

Interior of the Drottningholm

Theatre