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BACKGROUND TO THE CHANGELING The Changeling by English dramatists Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, was first performed at London’s Phoenix Theatre in 1622. The play was first printed in London in 1652 or 1653 and was popular in its day, but then fell into neglect. The last performance before modern times was in 1668. Interest in the play renewed in the twentieth century, and since 1930 there have been numerous successful productions in Britain and around the world. The Changeling is considered to be Middleton’s finest tragedy. It was common at the time for dramatists to collaborate, and Middleton and Rowley wrote five plays together over a period of five years. For The Changeling scholars believe that Rowley wrote the first and last scenes and the sub plot, while Middleton was responsible for the main plot and the characterisation of the major characters. Middleton wrote characters who defied the social norms and moral codes of their time. He wrote three- dimensional characters, which contradict the conventional characters we may initially assume them to be. The archetypes he does present are given further weight by being set against characters who defy convention, for example, Vermandero and his daughter, Beatrice-Joanna. This in turns lead us to explore and question the relationships and society they exist in. Each character has their own moral identity. He was particularly skilled in writing female roles; women who behave according to their own will. Most notably this appears in The Changeling; where the women are fully fleshed, complex characters who go through a journey in the play, rather than being an appendage to the male characters. Middleton could be described as a cynical writer, or one who wrote psychologically realistic characters. Themes in the play : • Madness and sanity • The role of women and sexuality • Class and status • Reason and passion • Appearance verses reality • Human corruption • Sin and temptation • Self destruction The Changeling and its Relevance Today Questions: • Why do you think the play was titled The Changeling? • How is The Changeling relevant to today’s audiences? Exercises: • Search for stories in our current newspapers which relate to the themes in the play. • Consider contemporary plays and stories to find examples of character’s who don’t fit into our society’s rules and conventions. 8
JACOBEAN DRAMA The term ‘Jacobean’ is used to describe the great flowering of dramatic writing that took place during the reign of King James I (1603-1625). As well as several plays of Shakespeare’s maturity – above all Macbeth, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra and The Tempest – the masterpieces of Jacobean drama include Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist, John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, John Ford’s Tis Pity She’s a Whore and Middleton and Rowley’s The Changeling. Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 and the last ten years of her reign were troubled by widespread famine, popular rebellion, religious polarisation and a steadily worsening economic climate; these tendencies were exacerbated by the coronation in 1603 of the divisive and controversial James. The emergence of Puritanism, a powerful new grouping with a strong emphasis on the individual’s relationship with God, led to an increased questioning of the social order which would reach its climax with the English Revolution and the Civil War. This darkening of the social and political landscape was matched by widespread developments in science, philosophy, religion and culture. Profound questions about the position of mankind in the universe, the relationship between nature and human beings, and the role of the divine (and the satanic) in human behaviour all led to a growing sense of unease. At the same time, rural poverty and the rapid growth of London resulted in an increasingly dangerous mob, while the unlocking of new economic energies and the emergence of a new class of risk-taking entrepreneurs (capitalists, in fact) further widened the gap between rich and poor and undermined the social cohesion that marked the middle years of Elizabeth’s reign. All of this is reflected in the drama of the time which, in the best writers, is characterised by a restless questioning and a refusal to come to easy conclusions. Many of its leading characters – like Deflores in The Changeling – refuse to accept their position in the social order, and many of its stories dramatise the divisions emerging between classes, sexes and generations. They show daughters rebelling against fathers, servants against their masters, and human beings against God; as such these extraordinary plays are not just unique documents of their time, they speak to any period where the world is changing. Jacobean Playhouses Stephen Unwin Jacobean theatre sees playwrights moving away from earlier Elizabethan theatre and developing a more intense dramatic style. Performances moved from the outdoor theatres into private halls. This had a strong effect on a play's construction and staging. Audiences tended to become more elite, and a focus on wit, black humour and subtlety replaced the previous 'barnstorming' productions which had to hold an audience’s attention in the open air, with a noisy bustling crowd. The ‘indoor’ theatres enabled plays to be performed in all weathers. Candlelight was used to focus attention towards the stage, with the shadows creating a more atmospheric performance. Plays conducted in a more formal setting, where all spectators were seated, led to a more formal playing style. While old traditions, such as males playing the female roles continued, the actor reacted and performed differently within the new venues. Actors’ performance styles became ‘smaller’, and their character portrayals more dramatically intense. Intervals appeared between the plays’ acts with music and masque becoming an important feature in many plotlines and the plays’ imagery. A model reconstruction of the interior of a Jacobean theatre 9
Page 1 and 2: 25 Short Street London SE1 8LJ T: 0
Page 3 and 4: CREATIVE POLICY ETT is England’s
Page 5 and 6: STEPHEN UNWIN ON THE CHANGELING The
Page 7: THOMAS MIDDLETON (1580-1627) Middle
Page 11 and 12: MADNESS AND SANITY IN THE 17 TH CEN
Page 13 and 14: [ACT 2 SCENE 2] BEATRICE-JOANNA ...
Page 15 and 16: INTERVIEW WITH MARK BOUMAN Costume
Page 17 and 18: INTERVIEW WITH PAUL WILLS Set Desig
Page 19 and 20: INTERVIEW WITH TIMANDRA DYER Produc
Page 21 and 22: The Role of Women Questions: • Do
Page 23 and 24: ASSISTANT DIRECTOR’S ESSAY by Sub
Page 25 and 26: enough, she doesn’t blush, whatev
Page 27 and 28: Terrence But it’s the unmarried o
Page 29 and 30: PLACING THE TEXT IN CONTEMPORARY LA
Page 31 and 32: 2. WRITING EXERCISE In pairs, spend
Page 33: FURTHER READING The Changeling, by

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