Introduction to the Theatre

THE 101 / University of Idaho

Chapter 17 / Restoration Drama

Historical Background:

     With the restoration of Charles II to the throne of England, Puritan rule is terminated.   However, the nature and power of Parliament remains unchanged and will result in a conflict with James II - successor to Charles II and predecessor to King George the I.   Having spent eleven years in exile, Charles returns to England with many of the trappings and habits of the French court and among these, like his father before him, was the love theatre.   To this end, Charles imports French Neoclassical Drama but makes one big change.   Being an outgoing and gregarious young man, he loosens the neoclassical rules of drama and allows theatre in England to develop into its own distinct style called Restoration Drama.

The Theater:

     Although Inigo Jones died in the service of the English court while in French exile, his style of Italian design and staging found a new home in the construction of the Covent Garden Theater in 1671 and the Theater Royal at Drury Lane in 1674.  The two new patent holders William Davenant and Thomas Kiligrew built these theaters, respectively.   Both Davenant and Killigrew tenaciously hung onto these production patents until the new Licensing Acts of 1737 eventually expanded them.

    The noted English architect Christopher Wren designed the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane.

   Wren added to the already impressive proscenium style of staging with side doors and an upper gallery for both servants and commoners.   If performances were not going well or the upper gallery did not appreciate actors, the ruffians in the crowd would tend to throw their favorite theater snack food, peanuts, at the actors.   This gallery soon became known as the peanut gallery and still finds it way into modern usage such as, “Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery!”   Another architect and scenic designer, Louthenberg added ground rows to the stage to help disguise where large drops intersected the stage floor.   He also improved perspective by using multiple vanishing points regularly in his designs.   Louthenberg also improved stage lighting in both its intensity and safety.   Finally, as a designer, Louthenberg began to experiment with actual locations, which became all the rage in the next theatrical period known as ‘realism’.

Playwrights & Theatrical Conventions

     The leading playwrights of the Restoration were William Congreve (1670-1729) The Way of the World, and William Wycherley (1640-1716) The Country Wife.   In addition, both Oliver Goldsmith and William Sheridan should be mentioned here.   While both Sheridan and Goldsmith are considered romantic period playwrights, the roots of Romanticism and the English proscenium stage lie in the Restoration and so they are mentioned here.   Since they have been mentioned, we will also discuss aspects of the romantic stage under the Restoration.

     To begin with, the neoclassic tradition of the Restoration was both elitist an inaccessible to the uneducated.   Restoration plays consisted mostly of heroic tragedies and the widely popular comedy of manners.   Heroic tragedies mimicked the great Greek tragedies and the comedies of manners aped the poor behavior of others.   Conversely in Romanticism, the more relaxed romantic tradition of theater appealed to the growing middle class and their desire for sentimentality. The plays met that need by portraying the lives of common Londoners with both thought and cynicism.   Thus, romantic plays consisted of sentimental comedies, domestic tragedies, ballad operas, burlesque (an early form of vaudeville), and pantomimes.

The Stage and Spectacle:

     The Restoration and Romantic periods see the stabilization of both the proscenium stage and the repertory system.   In fact, the modern proscenium stage has change very little since this time.   In addition, the repertory system of producing several plays at once and presenting them in rotation has become a modern standard for attracting audiences and increasing revenues.   This is due to the fact, that like today, this period saw a rise in producer run theaters, which emphasized profit and management over philosophy and art.  

    Furthermore, actors - although still shareholders, became employees of the theater relying more on the patronage of a wealthy benefactor or the benefit system than their weekly income.   The benefit system consisted of scheduled nights set aside for the lead performers in which all proceeds, after expenses, went to that actor.   In addition, established actors had a ‘line of business’ and ‘possessed parts’.   In short, within their companies actors had a ‘lock’ on any role requiring a tragic hero and outside their company they might have a ‘lock’ on the character of Hamlet.   The effect of the proscenium, the egocentric actor of the period, and the benefit system all saw a rise in a presentational style of acting as outlined and recorded by Denis Diderot (1713-84) a critic and playwright in Encyclopedie and Les Salons.   During the 18^th Century, this presentational style acting was perfected and combined with the Delsarte method of hand gestures.  This method describes the appropriate hand gestures for anger, accusation, dismay, etc.  While amusing in its antiquity, this style of acting remains both ‘wooden’ and flat and when seen reminds us of amateur acting and of turn of the century American melodrama.