1. Restoration Women

2. Eleanor (Nell) Gwynn Nell Gwynn Meets King Charles II
(Bettmann/Corbis)

3. “Pretty, witty Nell” Grew up in London slums
Mother ran a brothel, absent father
Started in theatre as an orange girl
Became mistress and protégé to Charles Hart, Kings Company
Excelled in comedy, singing, dancing and breeches roles. Also prologues and epilogues.
Had many affairs but became mistress to King Charles II, had two children with him.

4. Anne Bracegirdle Celebrated virgin Comic heroines Breeches roles
Raised by Thomas Betterton

5. Thomas Betterton – Actor and Manager
attention to detail, self-discipline, majestic restraint; model of English oratorical style
Shakespeare’s tragic heroes,
skillful in comedy and tragedy
Became manager of Duke’s company after Davenant’s death
combined the company with Killigrew’s to form United Company
Eventually led actor’s revolt against John Rich, formed a second patent company
Earned approximately $62,000 in today’s money in his final benefit performance (Actors' Equity Association minimum weekly salary is $1,605 a week)

6. Women Playwrights
Aphra Behn
Female Wits

7. Aphra Behn Playwright, poet and novelist Brought up in West Indies
Married a Dutch merchant, but widowed
Worked as British Spy
Imprisoned for debt
Wrote at least 20 plays

8. Female Wits Pg 240 University Wits Catherine Trotter Mary Pix
Delarivier Manley

9. Representation of Women
“Women of quality” - Virgins and Nuns
“Virginal Ingénue”
character, usually a passive and swooning damsel who must be rescued.
Ex. Florinda in The Rover
Women of ill repute/Whores
Lucetta
Ambiguous - neither pure nor innocent
Angellica Bianca
Aphra Behn
Behn – intelligent, witty and independent women – Ex. Hellena
Popular dramatic device to dress woman as a man – called breeches roles
Considered by religious leaders to be scandalous
Example – Hellena in The Rover

10. Liberation or Exploitation of Women
Theatre liberates women and provides them with a means of expression, independence and income
Behn,
Nell Gwynn
Female Wits
Theatre exploits women and reinforces stereotypes
Sexual objectification of women
Actresses often seen as no better than prostitutes
Male Gaze
Commodified women
Women as property
Ex. The Rover
Dowery,
Women for sale; on stage, in the theatre and in life

11. Restoration Theatre II
Theatre Architecture in the Restoration
Scenery, Scene-Shifting Technology, Costumes, and Lighting
© 2012, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
(© Historical Picture Archive/Corbis)

12. Major Playwrights Aphra Behn William Wycherley
The Country Wife (China scene)
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

13. Thomas Betterton – Actor and Manager
attention to detail, self-discipline, majestic restraint; model of English oratorical style
Shakespeare’s tragic heroes,
skillful in comedy and tragedy
Became manager of Duke’s company after Davenant’s death
combined the company with Killigrew’s to form United Company
Eventually led actor’s revolt against John Rich, formed a second patent company
Earned approximately $62,000 in today’s money in his final benefit performance (Actors' Equity Association minimum weekly salary is $1,605 a week)

14. Acting Companies
Actors were hired on a contract system and not a sharing plan
Marked a decline of actors’ control over theatre in London
Actors were provided with yearly “benefits” where one actor would keep all the profits of a performance
Actors learned their craft through apprenticeships
Rehearsals lasted less than 2 weeks
Acting styles featured broad gestures and powerful declamatory delivery
Actors fell back on conventional patterns of stage movement

15. Government and the Theatres
Master of Revels took control of theatre and issued licenses at start of restoration (Killigrew)
In 1737, Parliament passed the Licensing Act
Only two theatres were authorized to present “tragedy, comedy, opera, play, farce, or other entertainment for the stage for gain, hire or reward”
Covent Garden and Drury Lane theatres were the two theatres authorized

16. Theatre Architecture
All theatres were now indoor proscenium-arch buildings
Audience areas divided into pit with backless benches and raked from back to front, boxes, and galleries
Stage divided into two distinct halves
The Apron – the forestage in front of the proscenium – major area for performance
Backstage housed the scenery
Entire stage was raked
Proscenium doors
Used for entrances and exits

17. Ground Plan of a Restoration Stage
© 2012, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

21. Scenic Practices Sets painted in perspective Flats on groove system
Stock settings were normal: drawing room and the park
NO CLOSED CURTAIN
Scene changes happened while audience watched
Costumes followed traditions of English Renaissance
Contemporary clothing was standard
Traditional costumes and accessories worn to indicate historical figures or eras
Lighting was difficult
Performances took place in the afternoon to use natural lighting
Candles and chandeliers were used to light as well
Used footlights – lights on the floor running along the front of the stage

22. © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

23. © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.