EM

Restoration Drama: Key Concepts, Figures, and Contexts

Restoration Drama: Context, Forms, and Key Figures

  • Course context and logistics (as discussed in the transcript)

    • Quiz alignment and due dates:
    • The quiz covered weeks 3 and 4; due on Friday (originally Sunday, moved to Friday).
    • There was an earlier misstep by the instructor, who extended the due date to help students complete the quiz.
    • Announcements and platforms:
    • The instructor notes a tendency for students to check Canvas messages more than email; announcements will be posted there.
    • An upcoming shift to a later start time (one hour) for HI (HS) indicates schedule changes; an announcement will release next Tuesday morning.
    • Extra-campus event: an evening of comedy at Ball High School with details:
    • Short play festival: about 8 short plays; 10 minutes each, totaling roughly 1.5 hours.
    • Venue: Ball High School classroom; not a traditional black box theater, but a small proscenium-like space.
    • Attendance: encouraged for a play review assignment; not required to attend a specific performance.
    • Timing: performances Tuesday–Thursday at 7 PM; about 20–26 performances directed by students; 6 plays directed by student directors and 2 by faculty directors (the instructor is directing one of them, a partner the other).
    • Practical notes: parking lot and entrance details provided; the room is in a renovated/high-traffic area; directions shared to avoid getting lost.
    • Additional fall events:
    • Another play (Greece) scheduled the weekend before Thanksgiving; this affects the late start day (page 20 start) and a strict 10:10 PM end time.
    • Personal framing: the instructor includes personal storytelling and humor to connect with students about theater practices and schedules.

  • Historical frame: what the Restoration means for theatre

    • Timeframe and core shift:
    • The Restoration refers to the reinstatement of the English monarchy and associated institutions (parliament, Anglican Church, etc.) after the Commonwealth period.
    • Theatre changes during the Restoration period (1660–circa 1700) develop in tandem with political shifts.
    • Political context recap:
    • Civil wars began in 1642; long Parliament ordered closure of London theatres.
    • 1649: Charles I beheaded; executive powers held by the Council of State; abolition of Parliament’s royalist elements.
    • 1653: Parliament dismissed; Oliver Cromwell installed as Lord Protector (not hereditary).
    • 1660: Restoration of Charles II as monarch; theatres reopen and new theatrical culture emerges.
    • 1685: Charles II dies; James II ascends; fears of Catholic succession lead to the Glorious Revolution in 1688.
    • 1688: William and Mary invited to rule; this marks the end of the Restoration era in a political sense; in theatre, the period extends into the late 17th century with ongoing trends.
    • Intersections with broader intellectual history:
    • The Enlightenment and early modern ideas about natural law (Hobbes and Locke) influence 18th-century political thought and the later American Revolution; debates on how to protect natural rights shape foundational political philosophy.
    • Humanism and Renaissance humanism feed into questions about how to structure society, citizenship, and public life beyond mere survival.
    • Connections to U.S. context (as tangentially noted in the lecture):
    • The University of William and Mary (founded 1693, with associations to the late 17th-century period) is mentioned as a point of historical reference for colonial-era institutions and the broader transatlantic influence of English political culture.

  • Restoration theatre: what changes and what stays the same

    • Core shifts in theatrical practice and audience:
    • The royal/noble patrons return; upper-class tastes dominate, leading to comedies of manners that satirize fashionable society.
    • Female actors appear on stage for the first time in England, transforming on-stage dynamics and audience expectations.
    • The emergence of actresses and breeches roles:
    • Women on stage become a novelty and a major draw for audiences.
    • Breeches roles (women portraying men) become a common device, showcasing the female form in tight trousers and adding titillation to performances.
    • While financially successful, actresses face social risks and coercive pressures; deforming objectification and transactional relationships with affluent audience members surface as ongoing concerns.
    • Economic and organizational framework of Restoration theatre:
    • The theatre market is tightly controlled: a limited number of theatres operate under royal patent protection.
    • Licensing and ownership: William Davenant and Thomas Killigrow (often cited together) hold patents granting exclusive rights to theatre productions in London; this creates a privileged, elitist theatre economy.
    • Playwrights’ compensation evolves: by end of the period, playwrights may receive profits from openings, third-night performance revenues, or even profits from multiple nights, signaling a shift toward professional authorship and commercialism.
    • Restoration acting companies are larger and include women performers; playwrights were rarely full members of the troupe; profits and pay structures reflect a move toward more professionalized theatre business practices.
    • Rehearsal and theatrical practice:
    • The director as a distinct role emerges much later (late 19th century); during Restoration, a leading actor often acts as the “acting manager,” responsible for rehearsals and overall performance quality.
    • Rehearsals for a new play are usually short; two weeks is typical, which is insufficient for modern standards; six weeks is more realistic for a full-length play.
    • Playwrights often assist in the first rehearsal, but much of the preparation falls to the acting company.
    • Blocking and stage movement are not developed with the same precision as in modern theatre; emphasis is on voice, projection, and clarity of line delivery.
    • The stage space and technology:
    • The Restoration stage is often a proscenium-like space adapted to existing rooms; theatres are smaller and the seating capacity is around 600, with audiences seated about 35 feet from the stage.
    • Italian influences (forced perspective, scenic design) and French neoclassical methods influence set design and visual presentation, though content remains distinctly Restoration-associated in tone.
    • Lighting relies on candles and chandeliers; occasional bracketed lights, footlights along the stage edge.
    • The era sees early experimentation with stage optics and lighting; improvements such as gas lighting come later (1794 safety curtain and, later, gas lighting improvements in the 19th century).
    • The audience: composition and social dynamics:
    • Audiences are predominantly elite, but not exclusively aristocratic; servants of the upper class and middle-class attendees also participate.
    • The audience includes merchants and prostitutes at times; crowd behavior can be rambunctious, with loud reactions and social dynamics shaping performances.
    • Exterior and interior theatre culture:
    • The Restoration period borrows Italian court entertainments and neoclassical France influence; audiences and performers become more cosmopolitan.
    • The period sees a push toward a theater experience that reflects and serves the tastes of the elite audience while gradually expanding accessibility.

  • Key genres, styles, and thematic concerns in Restoration drama

    • Comedy of manners (central to Restoration drama):
    • Focuses on the fashions, foibles, and reputations of the upper class; satirizes social conventions and norms.
    • Often features witty dialogue, urban settings, sexual innuendo, and social satire rather than rural or heroic melodrama.
    • The plays frequently depict adultery, flirtation, and reputational concerns among the elite.
    • Stock characters and dramatic stock devices:
    • Stock types populate Restoration comedies; names signal personality traits (e.g., Sparkish as a self-proclaimed wit; Fidget and Squeamish as anxious types).
    • The “horns” motif appears in The Country Wife: a husband (Pinchwife) is deceived by a husband’s wife who hides her true sexuality behind appearances; the term “wearing the horns” signals the husband’s cuckoldry.
    • The Country Wife (Wycherley) and the notorious “horns” motif:
    • Plot involves Pinchwife, his wife Margery (Marjorie), and the libertine Horner who garners access to women by spreading a rumor about his impotence.
    • The play explores disguise, sexual liaison, and social invasion of rural virtue by urban libertines; the language often features risqué banter and suggestive double entendres.
    • Aphra Behn (first professional woman playwright in English): key biographical notes and works
    • Behn’s significance: widely regarded as the first professional female writer in English; wrote plays, poetry, political treatises, and novels; worked as a spy for Charles II.
    • The Forced Marriage (1670): anti-arranged marriage; early example of Behn’s willingness to tackle women’s autonomy and sexuality on stage.
    • The Rover (1677): a landmark Restoration play known for its bold treatment of sexuality and social agency; Behn’s work is frequently cited for its fearless female perspectives amid male-dominated theatrical culture.
    • Behn’s life: lived with social connections to actresses and court circles; her work confronted censorship and gender prejudice, yet she achieved substantial influence and commercial success.
    • Virginia Woolf quote (used in the lecture): Behn’s legacy as a trailblazer for women’s speech and professional authorship is celebrated for empowering women to speak their minds; Behn is described as a trailblazer whose impact extends into discussions of authorship and gender equality.
    • Earlier and contemporaneous contributors to the Restoration stage:
    • The Rover and The Country Wife are cited as emblematic works illustrating the era’s concerns with desire, reputation, and cunning social maneuvering.
    • John Dryden is mentioned as a prominent contemporary (and Behn’s associate with whom she was connected), illustrating the period’s blending of high literary craft with popular entertainment.
    • Jeremy Collier and the anti-immorality critique (1698):
    • A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English State (1698) is cited as a catalyst for changes in the later 17th-century and early 18th-century theatre, signaling a public moral critique of Restoration stage practices and licentious content.
    • Transition to sentimental comedy in the 18th century:
    • The Restoration era’s licentious tone gives way to sentimental comedy in the early 18th century, which rewards virtue and punishes vice, reflecting evolving social norms.

  • Notable plays and example scenarios described in the lecture

    • The Country Wife (Wycherley): key characters and setup
    • Pinchwife (husband), Margery (his naive wife), Horner (the libertine attempting to court Margery), Lady Fidget, Mrs. Fidget, Sparkish, and Fidget.
    • Horner’s ruse involves feigning impotence to gain access to wives; the deception leads to comic sexual subterfuge and intentional miscommunication among couples.
    • The motif of “horns” appears as a social metaphor for marital infidelity and cuckoldry.
    • The Rover (Aphra Behn): a signature work illustrating Behn’s voice and female agency within Restoration comedy (1677).
    • The Forced Marriage (Aphra Behn, 1670): anti-arranged marriage play highlighting women’s autonomy.
    • The Town (Behn) and Behn’s other works: referenced for her prolific contribution to Restoration drama and her portrayal of relationships and sexuality.
    • General Restoration themes and ethics:
    • The era’s comedies often foreground sexual politics, courtship rituals, social climbing, and reputational risk as central narrative engines.

  • Lighting, design, and technical notes from the period

    • Lighting and visibility:
    • Lighting was candle-based; candles hung in chandeliers above the stage and in brackets near audience boxes.
    • Footlights along the front of the stage helped illuminate performers and reduce shadows; lighting design sought to minimize shadows on stage.
    • Stage architecture and space:
    • The English Restoration stage commonly used a flat stage with a proscenium-like opening; seating around 600; audiences about 35 feet from the stage.
    • Italian influence introduced proscribed scenic perspectives and architectural tricks; English stages retained a flatter playing space to ensure visibility of performers.
    • The one theatre space mentioned (and briefly described in the transcript):
    • A room in Ball High School repurposed as a small theatre with an informal proscenium-like back of the room; this is used to illustrate the kind of venue some productions used during the period.
    • Safety and later technological advances:
    • The theatre claimed a number of firsts (e.g., safety curtain in 1794; gas lighting later in the 19th century).

  • Societal and ethical considerations

    • Puritan opposition and censorship:
    • The Puritans closed theatres in 1642 and restricted their reopening during the earlier part of the Restoration era.
    • Jeremy Collier’s critique (1698) argued that Restoration theatre promoted immorality and irreligion, contributing to shifts in theatre content in the early 18th century.
    • Gender and labor in the theatre:
    • Women’s entry into acting opened up new possibilities but also exposed them to new forms of professional and social pressure, including objectification and the risk of coercive relationships with wealthy patrons.
    • The function of theatre in society:
    • The Restoration era saw theatres as spaces for elite sociability, political satire, and gendered performance; over time, changes in taste and moral scrutiny pushed theatre toward different forms (e.g., sentimental comedy) and regulatory frameworks.

  • Broader connections and takeaways

    • The Restoration marks a transitional moment in English theatre between a puritanically constrained, earlier Elizabethan model and a more modern, professional theatrical culture with recognizable market dynamics, production practices, and star performers.
    • The era’s fusion of Italian and French theatrical aesthetics with English sensibilities helped shape a distinctly Restoration theatre that continues to influence modern drama, especially in terms of social comedy, performance practice, and the relationship between theatre and the audience.
    • The period also foreshadows ongoing tensions between artistic innovation and moral/ethical critique—tension that persists in contemporary theatre discourse.

  • Quick reference: key dates and numbers (for study and review)

    • Theatres closed by Parliament: 1642
    • Charles I executed; Commonwealth established: 1649
    • Parliament dismissed; Cromwell Lord Protector: 1653
    • Restoration of the monarchy: 1660
    • End of Restoration era in political sense with Mary and William’s rule: 1688 (Glorious Revolution)
    • Restoration theatre era roughly: 1660 to 1700 (with later influences)
    • Capacity and space: about 600 seats; audience about 35 feet from the stage
    • Typical short plays: about 10 minutes each; total evening around 1.5 hours
    • First safety curtain (theatre): 1794; gas lighting and 19th-century advancements follow
    • Notable playwrights and works cited: Aphra Behn (The Forced Marriage, 1670; The Rover, 1677); Wycherley (The Country Wife, 1675); Jeremy Collier (1698)

  • Summary takeaway for exam prep

    • Restoration drama centers on the return of the monarchy and the re-opening of theatres, emphasizing comedies of manners that critique upper-class life.
    • The era marks the first on-stage presence of professional actresses and a shift toward a more market-driven theatre economy, with licensing, patronage, and profit-sharing shaping what gets produced.
    • Behn’s pioneering role as a professional woman playwright and the controversial themes she explored are essential to understanding gender and literary history in this period.
    • The period is a bridge between Renaissance theatre and modern theatrical practice, with evolving rehearsal processes, directorial roles (ultimately formalized later), and a trajectory toward new forms like sentimental comedy in the 18th century.