18th C.

ENGLISH DRAMA

THe Changing Playhouse World

18th.c. English Drama

The year 1700 can be taken as a divisory line between the old and the new; though true signs of change were apparent, at the close of the seventeenth ( 17th ) century. The seasons which witnessed The Way of The World saw the last of the restoration plays because the series of plays that followed were written in a different mood and style. Eighteenth century as a whole brought about a new development in drama: the growth of a new audience, the enlarging of patent theatres, and the springing up of the minor playhouses. The audiences expanded due perceptible changes in the structure of society. It was obvious that there was a fall of the old tightly knit ( elite ) aristocratic society; at the same time, numerous merchant families were eagerly showing a desire to enter into the circle of society, so marriages of convenience broke down the barriers previously established. The appearance of the middle classes into the playhouse world is important because not only they increased the potential number of playgoers, but they brought with them some of their inherited bourgeois, and occasionally puritan, tenets and tastes. As a result the audience was much less heterogeneous than it had been during restoration times. Unquestionably this new group of spectators were to set up the roots of sentimentalism presenting more serious predilections a delight in moralizations, in sentimental conceived situations, in scenes of pathos. Eighteenth century drama witnessed a constant struggle proceeding between the force of intellectual dalliance and the more solemn objectives of the mercantile world, until during the sixties and the seventies victory was finally gained by the sentimentalists.

THE GROWTH OF SENTIMENTALISM

In the field of tragedy and comedy there was a lack of clear orientation. The comedy of manners could never again assume quite the same delicately careless and polished tone which it had exhibited during the earlier days. Wit and conversational sallies were replaced by moral sentiment which was becoming the main objective of many playwrights. This development in drama lead to explore defects it had upon the spirit of comedy because of the ridiculously lachrymose scene. On the other hand, it is worth stressing the fact that because of this new trend, several possibilities were opened for playwrights. It is clear that the new humanitarianism, the recognition of social problems, the endeavour to make the theatre express in its own way the many social issues confronting the members of the audience were an inevitable reaction to what had gone before. The new middle class spectator wanted to see their interest reflected upon the stage. In the tragedies they found themselves in an alien and artificial realm that did not excite them. By the same token in the comedies, they inwardly condemn the scene of gallantry. What they sought for and the sentimentalists gave them, was an intermediate kind of play in which occasional comic scenes alternated with sentimental trends may be traced as far back as the early eighties of the seventeenth century. The political interest aroused in the last days of Charles II, the reign of James II and the rebellion had something to do with the shifting of focus from gay intrigues to more serious scenes due to the political disturbances, men cared about problems of social life in general, as well as, to reaction to the excesses of the Stuart court.

THE GROWTH OF SENTIMENTALISM

Touches of reflective sort crept into the comedies and tragedies; Thomas Durfey and Mrs. Behn displayed in their plays, difficulties arising of social conventions of the time. Especially important are the works of Sir Richard St Steele, joint-author of The Spectator . Though he led a careless life, he was on the side of morality. It can be said that Sir Richard Steele believed in domestic happiness, in faithful love, in the goodness of the human heart. He wrote The Funeral; or Grief a la mode ( 1701 ), The Lying Lover; or The Ladies Friendship ( 1703 ), The Tender Husband ; or The Accomplished Fools (1705), The Conscious Lovers ( 1722 ). Sir Richard Steele alumbrated the new style portraying his own pure sincere reflections upon. In his works he presents a hatred hypocrisy, his mind dwells upon the questions on domestic life. Both Hugh Kelly and Richard Cumberland brought about the fuller development of the sentimental play-style. They concentrated their attention on the virtues of the natural affections of the evils of social conventions. There was an emphasis on the condemnation of foibles which before had been an occasion for laughter; seriousness took the place of laughter instead. Kelly tried by all means to be realistic in his plays but imposed upon the stage a dialogue ridiculously artificial though. There is, in his plays, a strange dichotomy, on the one hand, the cultivation of the natural and, on the other hand, a hopelessly artificial approach.

COMEDYS TEMPORARY REVIVAL

The sentimentalists looked not towards comedy but towards drama. In place of laughter, they sought tears, in place of intrigue, melodramatic and distressing situations, in place of gallants and witty damsels, pathetic heroines and serious lovers. These plays demonstrate that even the force of prevailing sentimentalism could not completely banish laughter from the playhouses. OLIVER GOLDSMITH He set himself against the sentimental dram when he published his essay on The Present State of Political Learning and a decade later ( 1768) his The Good natured Man cannot be regarded as a truly successful play; the plot moves creakingly, much of the dialogue is stilted and there are scenes which show that the author has not grasped fully the requirements of the stage. All these defects, however, are remedied in She Stoops to Conquer or The Mistakes of a Night. This comedy, richly deserved fame, approaches in essence more nearly to the spirit of Shakespeares comedies. It exhibits not a witty intellectual approach, but the exercise of humour. ( Tony Lumpking is born of Falstaffs company: he is a fool and yet a wit; for his follies we laugh at him at the same time we recognize that often the laugh is turned back upon ourselves ).

The Plays Reflect the Times

The sentimentalcharacters are unnaturally good

with problems too easily overcome. The 18th century conceived of man as good by nature, with goodness achieved by following instincts, but could be altered through temptation. Men were reclaimable by virtue, often quickly if their hearts could be touched. Audiences could validate themselves by seeing images of virtue in distress and being moved: this was thought to be a sign of proper sensitivity and moral stability.

Domestic Tragedy
In 1731, George Lillo wrote The London Merchant:

the hero (an apprentice) is led astray by a prostitute, kills his uncle, and is hanged in spite of his abject repentance. The subject was taken from the headlines of the day and depicted an ordinary man. Each Christmas for almost 100 years, the play was produced and all London apprentices forced to see it as a warning against going astray.

Sentimental Comedy
This was preferred over domestic tragedy because

audiences preferred rescue over punishment and wanted happy endings. In The West Indian (Richard Cumberland), a rake is rescued by marriage only to find that his wife is an heiress. In The Road to Ruin (Thomas Holcroft), a gambler is so touched by his fathers shame that he is restored to virtue. Sentimental comedy and drama led to the 19th century form called Melodrama.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (17511816)

His comic masterpieces were The Rivals and The School for Scandal. The Rivals gives us Mrs. Malaprop and her name still defines a particular comic technique, made immortal by Archie Bunker. Sheridans plays are filled with sparkling wit and effective dialogue while giving vivid portraits of the fashion of his day. For Sheridan, also a theatre manager, virtue had to win the day. Entirely distinct in character and in aims, save a common objection to the sentimental style. He pursued Goldsmiths endeavour to keep laughter on the stage. His comic opera was called The Duenna ( elderly woman in charge of girls) which appeared in 1775 and almost at the same time appeared The Rivals a comedy in which diverse influences can be seen at work.

 The authors object patently was to keep to the level of comedy, yet

farcical episodes are freely introduced. The School for Scandal is a completely harmonious masterpiece. Nothing disturbs the constant glitter of its wit, and the complicated plot is kept moving with consummate skill.

The Licensing Act of 1737

The monopolies established in the Restoration were

falling apart; the Licensing Act was an attempt to reestablish it for the 18th century. Licenses were falling apart because:

The crowns original patents had not been confirmed by Parliament The crown made too many exceptions Producers produced in defiance of the law There were too many debates over inheritance The cry for entertainment was greater than anticipated

The Political Side of the Coin

Prime Minister Walpole was super sensitive to

political satires being offered at unlicensed theatres. Walpole himself became the target of many of the more popular satires. The Act was simple:

It prohibited the presentation of any act or play for gain, hire, or reward not licensed by the Lord Chamberlain, and It restricted authorized theatres to the City of Westminster, confirming The Drury Lane and the Covent Garden as the only legitimate theatres in England.

Results of the Act

Henry Giffard opened the Goodmans Fields Theatre by charging for

concerts and adding plays and Samuel Foote offered free entertainments to those who paid for a Dish of Chocolate or to attend An Auction. With the closing of the New Wells Theatre in 1752 sent William Hallam and his troupe abroad, marking the true beginning of American theatre. Large towns outside London objected and secured from Parliament theatre royals for their own populations. In 1766, Samuel Foote gained a license to perform at the Haymarket during the summer months, the third official. The Act of 1788 established the following authorities:

The Lord Chamberlain in the city of Westminster Local magistrates within 20 miles of London Local Magistrates outside the 20 mile radius Parliament and their Theatres Royal in specific large towns.

Lincolns Inn Fields

Wrens Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Wrens Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Theatre Royal Drury Lane Adams Renovations