Theatre from Restoration to Romanticism: England, 1660-1800

English Restoration &
18 th 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 Gentleman
1. 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 figure
of 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
• Playwright
remembered 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

18 th 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 18 th century court
theatre

Interior of the Drottningholm
Theatre