An exploration of the ways in which Restoration comedy was performed, using the costume, customs, manners and behaviour of the age as a way of understanding its theatre and drama. It also considers problems encountered in early twentieth century revivals of plays by authors such as Etherege, Dryden, Congreve and Farquhar.
(Applause Acting Series). The art of acting in restoration comedy, the buoyant, often bowdy romps which celebrated the reopening of the English theatres after Cromwell's dour reign, is the subject of Simon Callow's bold investigation. There is cause again to celebrate as Callow, one of Britain's foremost actors, aims to restore the form to all its original voluptuous vigor. Callow shows the way to attain clarity and hilarity in some of the most delightful roles ever conceived for the theatre.
Restoration Staging 1660–74 cuts through prevalent ideas of Restoration theatre and drama to read early plays in their original theatrical contexts. Tim Keenan argues that Restoration play texts contain far more information about their own performance than previously imagined. Focusing on specific productions and physical staging at the three theatres operating in the first years of the Restoration – Vere Street, Bridges Street and Lincoln’s Inn Fields – Keenan analyses stage directions, scene headings and other performance clues embedded in the play-texts themselves. These close readings shed new light on staging practices of the period, building a radical new model of early Restoration staging. Restoration Staging, 1660–74 takes account of all extant new plays written for or premiered at three of London’s early theatres, presenting a much-needed reassessment of early Restoration drama.
This book provides a taxonomy of prologues and epilogues with a corresponding appendix, and demonstrates through case studies of Anne Bracegirdle and Anne Oldfield how the study of prologues and epilogues enriches Restoration theater scholarship.
This Companion illustrates the vitality and diversity of dramatic work 1660 to 1710. Twenty-five essays by leading scholars in the field bring together the best recent insights into the full range of dramatic practice and innovation at the time. Introduces readers to the recent boom in scholarship that has revitalised Restoration drama Explores historical and cultural contexts, genres of Restoration drama, and key dramatists, among them Dryden and Behn
The present work is set in the context of a long-term venture: The Restoration Comedy Project, launched by a research team at the University of Seville, Spain, in 1995. This book provides an objective, detailed view of all Restoration comedies, based on the descriptive and quantitative information obtained from an analysis of the plays, taking into account the different aspects of their production, and their dual nature as literary and performance texts. Hence the following elements are considered: title-page, performance details, editions, prefatory matter, dramatic structure, genre, characters, actors, plot summary, stage directions, music, and sources. All data obtained for each individual comedy are then catalogued and subsequently incorporated into a database that is regularly updated. This book covers the years 1660-70 and is the first in a series that looks at the comedies written and/or performed in England during the period 1660-1700.
First published in 1979, this book traces comedy of manners from the 1660s to the then present — a scope beyond the traditional focus on the Restoration and early twentieth century. It uncovers an underestimated subversive potential and socially critical force in this particularly English dramatic form, emphasising the distinctive subjects and style that distinguish it from more general forms of witty social satire. The author discusses the major comic dramatists of the post-Restoration period; reassesses the significance of Sheridan, Wilde and Coward; and examines the continuation of the tradition in modern writers. This book will be of interest to students of English literature and drama.
Restoration comedies of manners are at once bitingly true-to-life and deceptively artificial. Their style, elegance, grace, and wit provide the kind of challenge actors continue to love. Now Suzanne Ramczyk offers both directors and actors the tools they need to perform these popular plays. Drawing on her directing experience and her years of leading workshops on Restoration theatre, Ramczyk provides: an historic overview of the period and the literature analysis of the major literary devices and features methods to approach vocal interpretation of often highly artificial text a solid grounding in period manners and movement specific exercises to get actors quickly and easily into the Restoration style detailed artwork of period costumes illustrations of such period necessities as bows, curtsies, the "language" of the fan, and snuff taking. Read Ramczyk and explore the possibilities of Restoration comedy from first reading to final, polished performance.