Comedy of Manners
A play that uses satire when exploring the manners and behaviour of the particular social class.
There were representations of the working class, but the main focus was to use satire against the upper class
Restoration theatre (more commonly known as) was formed in 1660-1710
New era for theatre in England as king Charles II took the throne after it was ruled by Cromwell. the world became a more free and liberal society
King Charles granted various theatrical figures licenses to produce plays, he gave a breath of life to theatre again
He did a lot to influence fashion at the time, he allowed for more flamboyant men
As the world became more free and more liberal men and women began to perform together as there was a sudden love for theatre again
Male and Female roles were almost equal, this was the starting point for equality between the sexes in theatre
Use of makeup was a large factor, not only for women but for men
Women weren't as flamboyant as men in performances
The names of each character almost refer to their personality
There was a major gap between the rich an the poor both income and in social hierarchy
The cheapest seats were located at the bottom called the pit, and around the sides there were boxes which contained the most expensive seats
The ones at the bottom could see the rich men and women in the box seats and therefore admire them. It also allowed the rich to show off the latest fashion or current trends. This was amplified by the fact that the rich were allowed to walk along the stage during intervals.
It was amusing to the rich as they could be acting about the rich, and they would think that thats them, thinking the world revolve around them
Charles was more interested in sex than marriage
This view point king Charles expressed was filtered through to the rich, thus there was a demand for all things to go sexual. So theatre showed off beautiful women, wearing minimal clothing, sometimes with their breasts out.
The plays became very sexual, these distracted the audience so the actors, directors and playwrights needed to keep the performances simple as to keep the audiences attention.
The main aim of theatre at the time was to get audience attention and rip them away from their expensive distractions
It was a mockery of the very people watching the play
Lewd and immoral themes were constantly conveyed as this was the methods of distracting the audience with something they deemed as normal
Then a satiric treatment was used to credit their simple nature and this satire was directed to the audience culture
To ensure that different comedy of manners plays were never confusing they ended up having similar plots and similar archetypes in terms of character
Examples of plays:
The country wife
The rivals
There were representations of the working class, but the main focus was to use satire against the upper classRestoration theatre (more commonly known as) was formed in 1660-1710
New era for theatre in England as king Charles II took the throne after it was ruled by Cromwell. the world became a more free and liberal society
King Charles granted various theatrical figures licenses to produce plays, he gave a breath of life to theatre again
He did a lot to influence fashion at the time, he allowed for more flamboyant men
As the world became more free and more liberal men and women began to perform together as there was a sudden love for theatre again
Male and Female roles were almost equal, this was the starting point for equality between the sexes in theatre
Use of makeup was a large factor, not only for women but for men
Women weren't as flamboyant as men in performances
The names of each character almost refer to their personality
The cheapest seats were located at the bottom called the pit, and around the sides there were boxes which contained the most expensive seats
The ones at the bottom could see the rich men and women in the box seats and therefore admire them. It also allowed the rich to show off the latest fashion or current trends. This was amplified by the fact that the rich were allowed to walk along the stage during intervals.
It was amusing to the rich as they could be acting about the rich, and they would think that thats them, thinking the world revolve around them
Charles was more interested in sex than marriage
This view point king Charles expressed was filtered through to the rich, thus there was a demand for all things to go sexual. So theatre showed off beautiful women, wearing minimal clothing, sometimes with their breasts out.
The plays became very sexual, these distracted the audience so the actors, directors and playwrights needed to keep the performances simple as to keep the audiences attention.
The main aim of theatre at the time was to get audience attention and rip them away from their expensive distractions
It was a mockery of the very people watching the play
Lewd and immoral themes were constantly conveyed as this was the methods of distracting the audience with something they deemed as normal
Then a satiric treatment was used to credit their simple nature and this satire was directed to the audience culture
To ensure that different comedy of manners plays were never confusing they ended up having similar plots and similar archetypes in terms of character
Examples of plays:
The country wife
The rivals
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