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Brockett and Hildy – Chapter 9 – English Theatre to 1800
1642 – English Revolution
1649 – Charles I beheaded
1660 – Restoration of Charles II
1685 – Charles II is succeeded by his brother, James II
1689 – Parliament ousts James II (a Catholic), replacing him with his Protestant daughter, Mary,
and her husband, William of Orange
1689 – Parliament then passes a law giving parliament the right to rule and to determine the
succession to the throne – William & Mary accept this (!), ending the absolute monarchy
Interregnum – period between 1642 and 1660 when there was no king. The puritans controlled
the parliament and used it to dictate social policy as well.
The Restoration begins in 1660 with the restoration of Charles II to the throne. Charles rejected
Puritanism and ushered in a period of permissiveness. He’s protestant, but he’s not
puritanical. Restoration theatre is considered to extend to 1700, despite the fact that
Charles II dies in 1685.
Theatrical Production in the Interregnum and Restoration
1642 - Parliament passes a law forbidding theatrical performances for 5 years
 King’s Men sells wardrobe
 Globe theatre torn down
1647 – law lapses and plays are again put on, but not for long
1649 – Parliament passes new law ordering that actors be apprehended as criminals and that
theatre interiors be dismantled
Drolls become a popular form of entertainment (they’re not plays)
1656 – William Davenant offers operatic productions, introducing Italian scenic conventions to
larger public.
Davenant took over from Ben Johnson as Charles I’s court masque writer, and Charles
had given Davenant a theatre patent in 1639
1660 – Charles II is restored to the throne
Theatres are opened – with women!
1662 – King issues 2 patents (and only 2) for theatrical production in London (note that the
Master of Revels is relegated to licensing companies outside London)
Thomas Killigrew
William Davenant
There were only 2 licenses for theatrical production in London until 1843 – that’s 180 years
during which London was by law a 2-theatre town
1662 – Smock Alley opened in Dublin by John Ogilby, the Master of Revels for Ireland
1665 – Plague – Theatre’s close – 20% of Londoners die
1698 – Collier’s A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage
Dramatic Forms of the Restoration
With no new works readily available, in 1660 most theatres staged revivals of pre-interregnum
works. Then uniquely English forms began to emerge (though they were heavily influenced by
Spanish and French drama, which hadn’t been suspended during the interregnum).
Heroic Tragedy – Idealistic hero and beautiful heroine must choose between the fulfillment of
their love and some other obligation (to honor, god, nation, etc.). John Dryden’s The Indian
Queen is a good example of this.
 Exotic locations
 Optimistic worldview
 Serious in tone
 Usually a happy ending.
English Neoclassicism – After the rule-based dramatic forms developed on the continent,
English writers too tried to write according to plan. The unities were not so strictly enforced, but
the idea that great art needed to conform to rules (not conventions, but rules) came to England.
John Dryden’s All for Love is a good example.
Comedy enjoyed great popularity during this period, and a number of comic forms emerged.
The most important are
Comedy of Intrigue – Aphra Behn’s The Rover (1677) is an example of this type.
Comedy of manners – William Congreve’s The Way of the World (1700) is an example of this.
This type of comedy satirizes upper class characters and shows the superficiality of their
preoccupations (love, fashion, high society) even as it exploits their wit for further comic effect.
English Drama after 1700
Due to external and internal pressures, drama becomes more conservative during this period
English philosophers believe that human nature is essentially good, religious people are
pressuring dramatists to write works that are more moral, and the result is Sentimental Drama.
 Characters are unnaturally good
 Even bad characters are unnaturally converted to good in the end
 The evocation of pathos is considered instructive because it allows the audience to
empathize with virtue
Pantomime, opera, ballad opera, burlesque, and other forms also flourish during this period.
These were not plays, and so they could be performed outside the licensed theatres. In the 1730s
there were 4 unlicensed theatres.
1728 – John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera aims Opera at the Lower Classes
1737 – George Lilo’s The London Merchant is presented to the apprentices of London
An apprentice is seduced by a prostitute, ends up murdering his uncle and being hanged
Performed before willing and unwilling audiences through the end of the century
1737 – Licensing Act – Prime Minister Walpole doesn’t like political satire’s in the non-licensed
theatres, so he rushes a bill through parliament.
 Prohibits the acting for ‘gain, hire, or reward’ of any play not previously licensed by the
Lord Chamberlain
 Only theatres in Westminster are authorized
Three years later people are evading the licensing act in a number of ingenious ways
 Audiences pay for a concert and get a free play afterward
 Audiences buy chocolate and get a free play to enjoy while they eat it.
 Solo theatre (this isn’t a play)– Samuel Foote’s Lecture on Heads
1766 – Samuel Foote is granted a 3rd license for his lifetime (but it’s extended longer)
Comedy continued to flourish, thought it moved away from sentimentalism back toward a more
restoration-type aesthetic. Oliver Goldsmith’s She stoops to Conquer (1773) and Richard
Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals (1775) are examples of this return to the comedy of manners.
Toward the end of the 18th Century, however, English drama made a decided turn toward
Melodrama.