The Restoration Actress

Abstract

This chapter begins with a discussion on English and Continental Restoration actresses in the seventeenth century. Two theatre managers, Thomas Killigrew and William Davenant, had seen Continental innovations during their respective exiles abroad; and both men were eager to incorporate these innovations, including actresses, into the new companies. The first actresses stepped onto the English stage because the two new managers wanted to surpass their predecessors and to rival Continental theatre. The chapter next describes the daily life of the actress. It presents a few examples in which emerge some of the dramatic possibilities occasioned by the presence of actresses. Actresses affected the subject matter of new plays. Playwrights wrote parts that played upon the particular strengths of actresses within the companies. Some actresses became known for a particular kind of role and had a clear impact on the evolution of dramatic form.

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