Page and Stage in the Long 18th Century

In university classrooms, British theatre of the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries is routinely overshadowed by the Shakespearean period (circa 1590-1630) and the ever-expanding field of modern drama/theatre (1870 to the present). But King Charles II’s restoration to the English throne in 1660, after nearly two decades of civil war and revolution, was an event that also restored public theatres in London after an eighteen-year disruption, and began a complex new period in British theatre history. Innovations with far-reaching consequences included the patent monopoly system of theatre management, the introduction of actresses, proscenium staging, and serious advances in the arts of acting, movement, scenic design, and stage music. Under aristocratic patronage, theatre became intensely political and, in comparison with Shakespeare’s times, more limited in terms of its audience. The genres of comedy and tragedy moved decisively away from Shakespearean models, while new genres such as the heroic play, Spanish romance, split-plot tragicomedy, farce, burlesque, and ballad opera expanded the theatrical repertoire considerably. On the stage and in print, this array of plays participated fully in the historical shift within British society from royal absolutism to constitutional monarchy, from aristocratic (“Tory”) to bourgeois (Whig”) cultural values, and from relative political isolation within Europe to imperialist expansion and the full-scale  race for colonial markets. 

This course will use a selection of plays from the 1660-1750 period to chart the interlinked trajectories of Restoration and eighteenth-century drama, theatre, politics, and culture. Our principal focus will be on the genres of satiric sex comedy, tragicomedy, the history play, sentimental comedy, “irregular” drama, and bourgeois tragedy. The discussion of the plays will draw on relevant theatrical and historical contexts, and also include audio-visual materials.  

TENTATIVE READING LIST 

William Wycherley, The Country Wife (1675) 

Thomas Otway, Venice Preserv’d (1682) 

Aphra Behn, Oroonoko(1689) 

William Congreve, Love for Love (1695) 

George Farquhar, The Beaux Stratagem (1707). 

Susanna Centlivre, A Bold Stroke for a Wife (1723) 

John Gay, The Beggar’s Opera (1728). 

George Lillo, The London Merchant (1731). 

Henry Fielding, The Historical Register for the Year 1736 (1737)