Theatre History - Restoration

Restoration theatre was truly a unique era of plays and playwriting. When Charles Stuart was restored to the throne in 1660, theatres were reopened after an eighteen-year ban. Restoration theatre became a way to celebrate the end of the Puritan rule, with its strict moral codes. Comedy of manners is used as a synonym of Restoration comedy.

Staging

As it was more fashionable to go to the theatre, more people would go which meant that there was a need for the aristocracy to be seen. Indeed, some would pay to have a seat on the stage not to watch the play but for themselves to be watched by lower members of society. As seen by the image opposite, staging was typically the same as the grand theatres today. All theatres were now indoor proscenium arch
buildings.

Acting Style

The acting style can be said to be a unique fusion between Elizabethan stage

conventions and Italian and French styles. There were a variety of acting styles such as Serious Drama (containing Heroic and Restoration tragedies), Comedies of Intrigue and the Comedy of Manners which was by far the most used acting style containing plays such as The Country Wife detailed below.

Popular Plays

There were a variety of plays written by men and women alike but one of the most famous is that of The Country Wife. 

The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun with regard to the first syllable of "country". It is based on several plays by Molière, with added features that 1670s London audiences demanded: colloquial prose dialogue in place of Molière's verse, a complicated, fast-paced plot tangle, and many sex jokes. It turns on two indelicate plot devices: a rake's trick of pretending impotence to safely have clandestine affairs with married women, and the arrival in London of an inexperienced young "country wife", with her discovery of the joys of town life, especially the fascinating London men.


The scandalous trick and the frank language have for much of the play's history kept it off the stage and out of print. Between 1753 and 1924, The Country Wife was considered too outrageous to be performed at all and was replaced on the stage by David Garrick's cleaned-up and bland version The Country Girl, now a forgotten curiosity. The original play is again a stage favourite today, and is also acclaimed by academic critics, who praise its linguistic energy, sharp social satire, and openness to different interpretations.

Why did people go?

The socially diverse audiences included both aristocrats, their servants and hangers-on, and a substantial middle-class segment. These playgoers were attracted to the comedies by up-to-the-minute topical writing, by crowded and bustling plots, by the introduction of the first professional actresses, and by the rise of the first celebrity actors. High society had lots of affairs and immorality which this style of theatre reflects and was why many people attended.

Basis/Past

After the removal of Charles I, the Puritans banned theatre which only returned when the monarchy was restored with Charles' son aptly named Charles II. When Charles II came to the throne the theatre became more liberal as women were allowed to perform and the plays although funny, were sexual in nature which the Puritans were desperately against.

Costume

The Eighteenth Century stage afforded the best opportunities for lavish costumes. The budget for costumes changed in accordance with the management. The theatrical tastes of the eighteenth-century audience tended towards spectacle, and costumes were designed to please the masses. Because theatre during this time was a visual experience before anything else, it was important for successful theatre, both of the court and public theatre, to parade the actors in the most elaborate costumes possible. Because of a limited budget, most performances were costumed out of stock. Whenever possible, however, repertory companies received loans on particularly unique and lavish costumes.

Sources

http://www.london.umb.edu/index.php/entry_detail/restoration_theatre/theatre_intro/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restoration_comedy
https://www.ekschools.org/cms/lib/OH01001236/Centricity/Domain/339/history%20of%20Restoration%20Theatre.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Country_Wife
http://umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/early_theater/costume.html