The Restoration of 1660 not only brought the English monarchy back to the throne, but brought plays back to the nation’s previously shuttered theaters. In fact, though, this “restoration” promised to be more of a revolution.
Bold new practices were put in motion. Rather than proceeding cautiously, to avoid upsetting Parliament or religious groups, playwrights embraced controversial, even scandalous topics, rewriting practices, challenging social taboos and even pushing past boundaries set down by the Elizabethans. It was soon clear that, like the new king, Charles II, Restoration theater would have a taste for bawdy comedy, an eye for beauty and a willingness to take risks and invite public disapproval.
Perhaps one of the most controversial, and certainly the most obvious change in the theater was the introduction of actresses. Although other countries, such as France, had already integrated women into performances, when England’s theaters were closed, boys still played the female roles. (Ironically, though, while this was meant to enforce notions of female modesty it also offended those who thought it promoted effeminacy among men.) So, following the patents for the King’s Company and the Duke’s Company, Charles II issued a royal patent in 1662 proclaiming:
Forasmuch as... women’s parts [in many plays] have been acted by men in the habits of women, at which some have taken offence,...we do...permit and give leave that all the women’s parts to be acted in either of the...two companies from this time to come may be performed by women. (Styan 90)
This was enough of a change in the nation’s popular entertainment to require legislation, yet when the time came for the first female performances, their presence see...
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...But in reality the Restoration managed to take one step in the right direction towards equality for women, and two steps backwards. True control remained in the hands of the male playwrights, theatergoers and, of course, the monarch himself. Actresses were briefly able to feel the power they could have had if they had just been born a man -- and then it was taken from them. Ultimately, rather than just stripping women of their power, the Restoration era stripped them of their clothes and dignity on stage -- and called it theatre, and sold tickets to the show.
Works Cited
Feminism and theatre by Sue Ellen Case, The first English Actresses by Elizabeth Howe, Restoration Comedy in performance by J.L. Styan, The history of world theatre by felicia harrison lordre, A dependence of the first english actress by pippa guard, rape on the restoration stage by derek hug he
The Restoration in England was an era ripe for the development of new ideas in the arts. The return of the Stuart monarchy under Charles II marked the end of eighteen years of almost dictatorial control by Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan parliament. Cromwell had campaigned actively to halt all theatrical activity. In the end, however, his laws were actually responsible for helping move England forward in theatrical history. Actors, under Cromwell's laws, were to be apprehended a rogues if they were caught "in the act" so to speak of performing their trade. Some left their careers and sought employment elsewhere. Most, however, remained undaunted by parliament's threats. Productions continued quietly in tennis courts, inns and private houses. Officials were bribed to keep silent their knowledge of violations. The theater in England had moved indoors as it had already done in France and Italy. Although the reasons for the move were different, the end result was the same. Up until this time plays had always been performed outdoors in the early afternoon. Performances traditionally relied on sunlight, natural scenery, and minimal set pieces that could be easily transported from one location to another. Indoor productions required something much more elaborate. The preliminary concepts of scenic design and lighting design began to form in England in the late 1650's. During the Restoration, as controls were lifted, technical theater began to flourish. Many early examples of modern stage techniques were born between 1660 and 1800, making the Restoration a significant era in the history of scenic design and lighting for the theater. The art of scenic design did not begin in England. As early as 1570 the Italians were giving elaborate opera performances in the ducal courts using perspective scenes and various types of stage machinery. The French mimicked the design ideas of the Italian's and gave them a name, la scene a l'italienne. (Southern 221) Although Cromwell had banned public theater, opera was still considered a lawful art form. In England, just prior to the Restoration, John Webb designed the scenery for William D'avenant's 'opera' production of The Siege of Rhodes.
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-31. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 May 2011.
The play Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare is a 1601 comedy that has proven to be the source of experimentation in gender casting in the early twenty-first century due to its portrayal of gender in love and identity. The play centrally revolves around the love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola. However, Olivia and Orsino both believe Viola is a boy named Cesario. Ironically, only male actors were on the stage in Shakespeare’s time. This means that Olivia, Viola, and other female characters were played by young boys who still had voices at higher pitches than older males.
According to Bulman, some of the roles were given a male cast to the boys in the Elizabethan for the different people to have their sexual desires and imaginations raised. The writer holds that the gay culture was prevalent during that time period (Bulman 76). For those that were heterosexuals the boys would boost their imagination and grow in the story through the different uses of all-male casts. These casts were well prepared and the right amount of make-up ensured that they were set-up perfectly for the role. In Bulman’s article it is clear that he was taken by the different attributes of the society and the different productions of the plays in the Elizabethan period. The article highlights how the plays were conceptualized and acted out by the different productions (Bulman 75). It is important to note that there are different methods used with each raising its own significance and perception from a given cause of action identified by the production
Until the 1660's there weren't any theatres or drama companies left. With the restoration of Charles II, (who was exiled in 1642), in1660, England was brought into the modern age. People became more open and less conservative. The 17th century England questioned the supremacy of God and church. It shifted from heavenliness to earthliness.
In order to explore this question fully I feel I should primarily lay out some of the changes that took place in society around the 18th Century. It was only after the restoration of Charles II in 1660 that there was a law passed permitting women to represent their own sex in the theatre. This did not change society's attitude towards women that chose to act or dance on stage. This is commented on in Anne Coris's article `Women and Dancing after the Restoration' where she highlights that in the 1660's men are given `a legitimate opportunity to ogle at their legs when they are cast in male roles'1. It would seem even after Prevost, Camargo and Sallé's success in the dance world, gentlemen such as Lord Chesterfield refer to women on stage as
Greenblatt, Stephen. Shakespearean Negotiations: The Circulation of Social Energy in Renaissance England. Berkeley and Los Angeles: U of California, 1988.
Warren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.
The Tragedy of Mariam focuses on Elizabeth's Cary's desire to develop a platform from which women can speak, thereby offering a fuller understanding of women as individuals. By examining issues of public and private language, Cary shows her interest in female voices. As an early-17th-century female playwright, Cary was described by the Earl of Clarendon as `a lady of a most masculine understanding, allayed with the passions and infirmities of her own sex'. This description could be interpreted as a complement to Cary, although the Earl adheres to the patriarchal boundaries placed upon both men and women. The connection that he makes between Cary and masculinity reinforces the stereotype of male authority. This essay will examine Cary's exploration of gender, language and silence in The Tragedy of Mariam. The play's expression of these themes is sometimes open, and at other times covert. By concentrating on the issues of public and private speech, this essay will determine the effects that crossing patriarchal boundaries had on women in early modern England.
With the restoration of Charles II to the throne following the fall of the Commonwealth and Puritanism came a surge of sexual and artistic freedom in England. This new libertine ideology brought with it not only the reemergence of the theatre, but and a society that embraced freedom of sexuality and thought in a way that was unprecedented. It is this new libertine society that provided a context for the writings of Aphra Behn. While Behn observed men like rakish Charles II and the effeminate Earl of Rochester enjoying England’s newfound open mindedness, she was forced to navigate, or rather circumnavigate, the limitations that remained in place for women. In a time when actresses were first appearing on stage and Charles II’s mistresses were regarded practically as pop culture icons, women were finally breaking out of the private sphere and being thrust into the public eye.1 While women, and even their sexualities were at last being celebrated outside of the domestic sphere, it was far from on their own terms, and entirely relative to the roles they filled for men. While the society so often characterized by the court of Charles II was on the whole highly performative, women were expected to perform in a much more specific way than their male counterparts. On and off stage women were expected to conform to a limited selection of character types that started with wife and ended with whore, and the spectrum between was narrow if not nonexistent.
Elizabethan times in the 1600s was a progression for the world of the theater. A period named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, it is from this period that modern day society has its foundation for the entertainment industry. From the violence that was prevalent because of the Black Death, people turned to the theater for its poetry and romance. During this time period, there were two types of theatrical performances that were available for the people’s viewing, comedies or tragedies. These two genres were never really intertwined until the time of William Shakespeare. His play, Romeo and Juliet, is an example of both a comedy and a tragedy. It starts off as a comedy with Romeo weeping like a baby because of his love Rosaline, who did not love him back and ends as a tragedy when Romeo and Juliet, a pair of star crossed lovers, commit suicide because the lost of each other. It was also during Shakespeare’s time that writer were finally acknowledged by the people. Before this time, writers were not considered upper classman. Another group of people that began to rise into a higher social class were the actors. Actresses were not present back then because women were not allowed on stage. It was considered unladylike to have a female actor. Men played all the parts. Theater owners were dependent on actors to make them a profit. Rehearsals for the plays were fairly short, only lasting for about a week. The performances themselves would only show for three to four days.
Russell Brown, J. 1995. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
In the Elizabethan period, it was "forbidden" for women to appear on stage and considered "immoral", and so boys played...
1908 Government Regulation of the Elizabethan Drama. The. New York: Columbia University Press. Lee, Sir. Sir Sidney. 1916
This is to be expected in a society that did not even permit women to perform in theaters, so men played the women’s roles. Women were not allowed to perform on stage until 1660 when Charles II took the throne and the Restoration occurred (Nestvold). Hence, women are often restricted by husbands or fathers, like Juliet who was controlled by her father in Romeo and Juliet, or women are victimized by men and not in control of their own fate, like Desdemona who dies at the hands of Othello in Othello.