Essay on Restoration: Theatre and Actors

The Restoration Era – Actors, Managers Theatre during the Restoration era was definitely a time of change and growth. There were many advances made and it paved the way we know and recognize theatre today. From 1642 onward for eighteen years, the theaters of England remained nominally closed. There was of course evasion of the law; but whatever performances were offered had to be given in secrecy, before small companies in private houses, or in taverns located three or four miles out of town. No actor or spectator was safe, especially during the early days of the Puritan rule. Least of all was there any inspiration for dramatists. In 1660 the Stuart dynasty was restored to the throne of England. Charles II, the king, had been in France during the greater part of the Protectorate, together with many of the royalist party, all of whom were familiar with Paris and its fashions. Thus it was natural, upon the return of the court, that French influence should be felt, particularly in the theater. In August, 1660, Charles issued patents for two companies of players, and performances immediately began. Certain writers, in the field before the civil war, survived the period of theatrical eclipse, and now had their chance. Among these were Thomas Killigrew and William Davenant, who were quickly provided with fine playhouses (“TheatreHistory.com”). Perhaps the most influential and greatest change during this period was introducing women to the stage and into acting companies. Men, who prior to this time, were use to playing the female and male roles, were only cast in male parts. However, they were still considered to play female roles of a witch or elder women. All actors were required to go through extensive acting training in order to be cast in a production. Most of the time, the new actors were to watch and evaluate the more experienced actors and to take note on how they did their work. Actors also had to attend extensive courses three days a week to learn singing and dancing. Often, the more experienced actors were paid to teach the classes. The beginners were required to play numerous roles to get a feel of what they could or could not do. This gave them the opportunity to discover which parts were best for them and what character types they could play in the future. “After a few years, they advanced into a “line of business” (a limited range of character types) in which they usually remained for the rest of their careers” (Brockett 302). Later on in the eighteenth century, character ranks were established to distinguish the different types of roles and the ‘size’ of those roles. There were the leading roles, the secondary roles, third-line or “walking ladies/gentlemen” roles and general utility performers (Brockett 302). The leading roles were typically the characters in which the play evolved around. They typically had the most lines and a lot of character work to do during a production; these roles were usually the heroes or heroine. The other roles were targeted towards those who were trained in low comedy roles, such as; fathers, elderly men, witches and hags (Brockett 302). It was important for an actor to be well trained and able to play a wide variety of different characters. This gave them the chance to land many roles and kept them receiving work. However, it largely depended on the acting company you were involved in and the size of it, as well. Smaller companies lacked many people; therefore, it required it’s actors to have the versatility needed to portray many different people. Larger companies had the luxury to view all types of people and to cast the best person for the role. This is where Lines of Business came into play. “Lines of Business led to the “possession of parts,” since once actors were cast in roles they continued to play them as long as they remained in the company” (Brockett 302).
Though women now had fair game at landing a role on stage, they probably did not receive the

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