William Congreve was an English playwright, poet and Whig politician. His works, which form an important component of Restoration literature, were known for their use of satire and the comedy of manners genre. Notable plays he wrote include The Old Bachelor (1693), The Double Dealer (1694), Love for Love (1695), The Mourning Bride (1697) and The Way of the World (1700). He died in London, and was buried at the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
"Restoration comedy" is English comedy written and performed in the Restoration period of 1660–1710. Comedy of manners is used as a synonym for this. After public stage performances were banned for 18 years by the Puritan regime, reopening of the theatres in 1660 marked a renaissance of English drama. Sexually explicit language was encouraged by King Charles II (1660–1685) personally and by the rakish style of his court. Historian George Norman Clark argues:
The best-known fact about the Restoration drama is that it is immoral. The dramatists did not criticize the accepted morality about gambling, drink, love, and pleasure generally, or try, like the dramatists of our own time, to work out their own view of character and conduct. What they did was, according to their respective inclinations, to mock at all restraints. Some were gross, others delicately improper.... The dramatists did not merely say anything they liked: they also intended to glory in it and to shock those who did not like it.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1695.
Thomas Betterton, the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.
Anne Bracegirdle was an English actress.
The Way of the World is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best Restoration comedies and is still occasionally performed. Initially, however, the play struck many audience members as continuing the "immorality" of the previous decades, and was not well received.
The Beauty of Bath is a musical comedy with a book by Seymour Hicks and Cosmo Hamilton, lyrics by C. H. Taylor and music by Herbert Haines; additional songs were provided by Jerome Kern, F. Clifford Harris (lyrics) and P. G. Wodehouse (lyrics). Based loosely on the play David Garrick, the story concerns a young woman from a noble family, who falls in love with an actor. She then meets a sailor who appears identical to the actor and mistakes him for the latter. Her father objects to a marriage with the actor, but when it turns out that she really loves the sailor, all objections fall away.
The Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege, written in 1676. The play is set in Restoration London and follows the womanizer Dorimant as he tries to win over the young heiress Harriet and to disengage himself from his affair with Mrs. Loveit. Despite the subtitle, the fop Sir Fopling is only one of several minor characters; the rake Dorimant is the protagonist.
The Temple Beau is a play by Henry Fielding. It was first performed on 26 January 1730, at Goodman's Fields after it was rejected by the Theatre Royal. The play, well received at Goodman's Fields, depicts a young law student forsaking his studies for pleasure. By portraying hypocrisy in a comedic manner, Fielding shifts his focus from a discussion of love and lovers.
Cave Underhill (1634–1710?) was an English actor in comedy roles.
Margaret Bicknell (1695?–1723) was a Scottish theatre actress and dancer.
False Impressions is a 1797 melodramatic comedy play by the British playwright Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Covent Garden Theatre in November 1797. Much of the plot resembles Cumberland's 1795 novel Henry. Algernon has to pretend to be a servant to restore his good name.
The Double Dealer is a comic play written by English playwright William Congreve, first produced in 1693. Incidental music for the play was written by Henry Purcell.
The Old Bachelor is the first play written by British playwright William Congreve, produced in 1693. Incidental music for the play was written by Henry Purcell. Originally staged by the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane the cast included Thomas Betterton as Heartwell, George Powell as Bellmour, Joseph Williams as Vainlove, William Bowen as Sir Joseph, Joseph Haines as Bluff, Thomas Doggett as Fondlewife, Cave Underhill as Servant, Anne Bracegirdle as Araminta, Susanna Mountfort as Belinda, Elizabeth Barry as Laetitia, Elizabeth Bowman as Sylvia, Elinor Leigh as Lucy.
Samuel Sandford was an English character actor, known for his roles as villains.
Thomas King (1730–1805) was an English actor, known also as a theatre manager and dramatist.
The Biter is a 1704 play by the English writer Nicholas Rowe. Rowe was better known for his tragedies but chose to try his hand at comedy. Performed at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, it was not a great success and lasted for about six performances. It was overshadowed by the more popular The Careless Husband by Colley Cibber, which appeared at the Drury Lane Theatre. It was Rowe's only play in a contemporary setting, and he rapidly turned back to historical tragedies beginning with Ulysses (1705). Some sources reported Rowe defiantly and loudly laughing at the jokes during a performance, even while nobody else did.
Mary Willis was a British stage actress of the eighteenth century.
Elizabeth Bowman was an English stage actor of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The daughter of Sir Francis Watson, 1st Baronet she was adopted by the actor manager Thomas Betterton. In 1692 she married John Bowman and began acting at Drury Lane the following year as Mrs Bowman. She was a member of the United Company until 1695 then joined Betterton's breakaway at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre.
Friendship in Fashion is a 1678 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Otway. It was first staged by the Duke's Company at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London. It was part of the trend of Restoration Comedy that flourished during the era.
