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The Theatre of the English Restoration
Objectives
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
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Compare and contrast heroic and Restoration tragedy.
Differentiate among various Restoration comedies.
Describe the organization of acting companies during the Restoration.
Describe the relationship between government and the Restoration Theater.
Describe theatre architecture, scenery, costumes and lighting.
Lecture Topics
Who were the major Restoration playwrights?
Who were the leading actors of the Restoration?
How did the government affect the production of theatre during the Restoration?
Discussion Topics
How does The Country Wife exemplify Restoration Comedy?
Describe Restoration audiences.
Describe the acting style of the English Restoration.
Compare and contrast Eleanor Gwynn and Anne Bracegirdle.
What made the scenic practices of Restoration England distinct from those of Italy and
France?
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Multiple-Choice
Please choose the answer that best completes each sentence.
1. Nell Gwynn was an actress during the Restoration period, who specialized in
________________________________________.
A. melodramas
B. Shakespearean roles
*C. "breeches roles"
D. classical roles
2. Who removed Charles I from the throne?
A. Mary, queen of Scots
B. Queen Elizabeth
*C. Oliver Cromwell
D. Jeremy Collier
3. To whom did Charles II grant a monopoly on theatre?
*A. Davenant and Killigrew
B. Wycherley and Congrieve
C. Centlivre and Behn
D. Betterton and Dryden
4. _____________________ features extraordinary characters who undertake
extraordinary deeds and contains themes of love and honor.
A. Restoration tragedy
*B. Heroic tragedy
C. Comedy of Intrigue
D. Melodrama
5. Who was the first woman known to make her living as a playwright?
A. Willa Congreve
B. Susanna Centlivre
*C. Aphra Behn
D. Mrs. Hallam
6. Writing such plays as The Country Wife, ________________ satirized the elegant
society of Restoration England.
A. William Congreve
B. Moliere
C. Oliver Goldsmith
*D. William Wycherley
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7. Who wrote The Way of the World?
A. Sophocles
B. William Shakespeare
C. John Dryden
*D. William Congreve
8. What play has the "china closet" scene?
A. Way of the World
*B. Country Wife
C. All for Love
D. Romeo and Juliet
9. The type of theater space preferred during the Restoration was the:
A. thrust stage
*B. proscenium stage
C. arena stage
D. multi-focus stage
10. ______________ was able to circumvent the ordinances against the theatre during the
Commonwealth period by describing his presentations as musical entertainments.
A. Richard Brinsley Sheridan
B. William Wycherly
*C. William Davenant
D. George Farquhar
11. _______________, which was influenced by the French dramatist Molière, focuses
on the fashions and foibles of the upper class.
A. Comedy of Intrigue
*B. Comedy of Manners
C. Comedy of Humour
D. Sentimental Comedy
12. Willaim Congreve’s ________________ is often considered a bridge between
Restoration comedy and eighteenth-century, English sentimental comedy.
A. The Country Wife
*B. The Way of the World
C. The School For Scandal
D. She Stoops to Conquer
13. Catherine Trotter, Mary Piz, and Delariviere Manley, known collectively as the
__________________, worked to increase the involvement of female playwrights in
English theatre.
*A. female wits
B. playwright advocates
C. daughters of Aphra Behn
D. breeches playwrights
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14. Which of the following is true of Restoration audiences:
A. They are thought to have spoken back to actors.
B. They purchased fruit from “orange wenches.”
C. They came to be seen, rather than to see the play.
*D. All of the above.
15. A favorite dramatic device in the Restoration was to have a woman dress as a man in
parts known as:
*A. breeches roles
B. gender roles
C. ingenue roles
D. bracegirdle roles
16. Perhaps the most famous actress of the Restoration was ____________, who went
from the slums of London to the King’s palace.
A. Eleanora Duse
B. Aphra Behn
*C. Nell Gwynn
D. Susan Centlivre
17. The greatest actor of the Restoration stage was:
A. John Dryden
*B. Thomas Betterton
C. Thomas Killegrew
D. Samuel Whitbread
18. Under the ______________, London actors were hired for a specific period of time at
a set salary, rather than depending on the profits and losses of the company.
A. shareholding system
B. declamatory system
C. patent system
*D. contract system
19. In order to increase their wages, actors were provided with yearly
A. stock options
B. revival shares
*C. benefits
D. residuals
20. Which of the following is true of the Restoration theater:
*A. The stage was divided into two nearly equal halves.
B. Spectators stood in the pit area.
C. The theaters seated about 3,000 people.
D. All of the above
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21. How was the stage lit during the Restoration?
A. Windows provided sunlight.
B. Candles were placed above the stage.
C. Footlights were used.
*D. All of the above
22. Restoration audiences were primarily composed of
*A. the upper class.
B. the middle class.
C. the lower class.
D. an equal mixture of all classes.
23. Short versions of full-length plays known as _____________ were the form of drama
most often staged at the Salisbury Court Theatre during the Commonwealth.
A. interludes
B. pastorals
C. intrigues
*D. drolls
24. __________________, known for her virtuous reputation, achieved popularity for
her portrayal of clever urban women.
A. Eleanor Gwynn
B. Catherine Trotter
*C. Anne Bracegirdle
D. Ann Oldfield
25. ____________________ was the most commercially successful woman playwright in
the English Restoration.
*A. Susanna Centlivre
B. Anne Bracegirdle
C. Mary Pix
D. Nell Gwynn
26. Having written such plays as The Beaux’ Strategem, _______________ is
remembered for a more realistic style and gentle treatment of characters.
*A. George Farquhar
B. Thomas Betterton
C. William Wycherly
D. William Congreve
True/False
Please choose whether the statement is true or false.
27. During the Restoration it was an accepted, and commonly used, practice for
playwrights to “borrow” from the works of other writers.
*True
False
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28. Actresses appeared on the English stage during the Restoration period.
*True
False
29. Historically accurate costuming was used in Restoration theatres.
True
*False
30. Writing comedies of intrigue, Nell Gwynn was the first woman to make her living as
a playwright in England.
*True
False
31. During the Restoration period, “The Female Wits” were a group of actress-managers.
True
*False
32. The revival of the English Theatre in the second half of the seventeenth century came
about through the efforts of William Davenant and Thomas Killegrew.
*True
False
33. The Restoration began in 1660.
*True
False
34. William Wycherly wrote The Way of the World, considered a failure in its own time
and now thought to be one of the best Restoration comedies.
*True
False
35. Edwin Booth was the leading actor of the Restoration.
True
*False
36. There was no apron stage in use during the Restoration.
True
*False
Essays/Activities
37. Compare and contrast two forms of Restoration Comedy.
38. Sketch the ground plan of a Restoration stage. How does this stage differ from those
of earlier periods?
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