The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be known as the Interregnum (1649–1660).
The Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed court for playing the sport of real tennis. It was built for Cardinal Wolsey between 1526 and 1529. Henry VIII of England played there from 1528. This court is still home to an active tennis club. In 2015 it was closed to visitors for major restoration works.
Lisle's Tennis Court was a building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, the theatre was called Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse, also known as The Duke's Playhouse, The New Theatre or The Opera. The building was demolished and replaced by a purpose-built theatre for a third period, 1714–1728. The tennis court theatre was the first public playhouse in London to feature the moveable scenery that would become a standard feature of Restoration theatres.
John Ramsay Allardyce Nicoll was a British literary scholar and teacher.
The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During that period, theatres began to flourish again after they had been closed from the restrictions throughout the English Civil War and the Interregnum. The Duke's Company existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged with the King's Company to form the United Company.
John Rhodes was a theatrical figure of the early and middle seventeenth century. He rose to a brief prominence in 1660 when the London theatres re-opened at the start of the English Restoration era.
John Genest (1764–1839) was an English clergyman and theatre historian.
Charles Beckingham was an English poet and dramatist.
Jane Lessingham née Hemet was a stage actress from 1756 to 1782. Lessingham predominately performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, where she was known for both her beauty and her skill as a comedy actress.
The Fall of the Earl of Essex is a 1731 tragedy by the writer James Ralph. It was inspired by Restoration-era drama The Unhappy Favourite by John Banks about the downfall of the Earl of Essex, a military commander and former favourite of Elizabeth I.
The WelchHeiress is a 1795 comedy play written by Edward Jerningham. Although it had only a single stage performance, the published script had some success.
The Siege of Berwick is a four-act verse tragedy by Edward Jerningham, acted in 1793 and published the following year. The text was republished in the third volume of Jerningham’s Poems and Plays (1806) and then in a separate edition as The Siege of Berwick: a tragedy by Mr Jerningham as performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, edited by his great grand-nephew Hubert Jerningham in 1882. The subject concerns a supposed incident during the English invasion of Scotland in 1333. Though the play is of historical interest, it was not a critical success.
Herod and Mariamne is a 1671 tragedy by the English writer Samuel Pordage. It was first performed by the Duke's Company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London shortly before they moved to the Dorset Gardens Theatre. It was the company's attempt to respond to the great success of John Dryden's heroic drama The Conquest of Granada by the rival King's Company. It is inspired by the accounts of Josephus portraying the reign of Herod II.
The Adventures of Five Hours is a 1663 comedy play by the English writer Sir Samuel Tuke, 1st Baronet. Based on the play Los empenos de seis horas by Antonio Coello, It is an early example of the developing Restoration comedy tradition. Its success led to a series of sentimental plays in the Spanish style about love and honour, very different to the more sophisticated and cynical comedies which the Restoration era became known for.
The Massacre of Paris is a 1689 tragedy by the English writer Nathaniel Lee. It was first staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It is based around the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day massacre which led the killing of many Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion. The events had previously been portrayed in Christopher Marlowe's Elizabethan play The Massacre at Paris.
Alasco is an 1824 tragedy by Martin Archer Shee, the Irish painter and future President of the Royal Academy. While best known for his artworks Archer Shee also wrote poetry, two novels and this play. It was intended to be staged at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London, but objections by the censor George Colman to the play's subject matter led to the Lord Chamberlain, the Scottish peer the Duke of Montrose to refuse it a license. Montrose and Colman were wary of any plays they regarded as touching on any revolutionary themes. Archer Shee published the work with a lengthy preface defending the play, and it was performed at the unlicensed Surrey Theatre south of the River Thames in April 1824.
First Impressions is an 1813 comedy play by the British writer Horatio Smith. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 30 October 1813. The original cast included Joseph Munden as Sir Thomas Trapwell, Alexander Rae as Fortescue, Robert Elliston as Harcourt, William Lovegrove as Sir Toby Harbottle, William Oxberry as Sapling, Benjamin Wrench as Professor Trifleton, Julia Glover as Laetitia Freemantle, Elizabeth Rebecca Edwin as Lady Trapwell, Sarah Sparks as Lady Anemone, Frances Maria Kelly as Louisa and Susan Boyce as Phoebe. It lasted for fifteen performances on its original run. It's Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 27 January 1814.
Forget and Forgive is a comedy play by the British writer James Kenney. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 21 November 1827. The original cast included Henry John Wallack as Charles Sydney, John Liston as Rumbold, John Cooper as Cameron, William Bennett as Sir Gregory Ogle, Maria Rebecca Davison as Lady Ratcliffe and Ellen Kean as Georgiana. Originally of five acts it was later shortened to three. It was revived under the title Frolics in France in 1828.
The French Libertine is an 1826 historical play by the British-based American writer John Howard Payne. Written under the title Richelieu the play originally focused on the life of the eighteenth century French aristocrat and libertine the Duke of Richelieu, a relation of the seventeenth century statesman Cardinal Richelieu. It was partly inspired by the 1796 work La Jeunesse de Richelieu by Alexandre Duval. Issues with the censor George Colman led to many changes, done by Charles Kemble who played the lead, and Richelieu was altered into the fictional Duke de Rougemont.
Wallace is an 1820 historical tragedy by the British writer Charles Edward Walker. It portrays the Scottish leader William Wallace and the events surrounding his capture and execution, due to the betrayal of John de Menteith. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 14 November 1820. It starred William Macready as Wallace, Charles Kemble as Douglas, Daniel Egerton as Comyn, William Abbot as Montieth, Thomas Comer as Kierly, William Chapman as Clare, Earl of Gloster, Charles Connor as Lord de Clifford and Margaret Agnes Bunn as Helen. It was performed sixteen times. The critic John Waldie, who saw the play in Newcastle four months after its London premiere, comparied it to Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1799 hit Pizarro.
