Firstly, a reminder and a big THANK YOU.
The reminder is that in March we will be meeting Chez Kyung-Sook.
The Thank You is to Kyung-Sook for once again agreeing to host in my absence!
Playhouse Creatures by April de Angelis
The reminder is that in March we will be meeting Chez Kyung-Sook.
The Thank You is to Kyung-Sook for once again agreeing to host in my absence!
Playhouse Creatures by April de Angelis
It is 1669: a bawdy and troublesome time. Theatres have just reopened after 17 years of Puritan suppression. There is a surge in dramatic writing and the first English actresses appear on stage.
Playhouse Creatures focuses on five of the most famous Restoration actresses, in a moving, and often comic, account of their precarious lives.
Nell Gwyn
Nell Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was a prolific celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stage, she became best known for being a long-time mistress of King Charles II. Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of Cinderella. Gwyn had two sons by King Charles: Charles Beauclerk(1670–1726); and James Beauclerk (1671–1680). Charles was created Earl of Burford and later Duke of St. Albans.
Mary Betterton
Mary Betterton is a descendant (Granddaughter) of Richard Burbage, one of William Shakespeares men, one of the first and most famous shakespearian actors. Her most notable accomplishments are her being the first female actress to portray several of Shakespeare's woman characters on the professional stage. Sir William Davenant hired her to perform for the Duke's company in 1661. She lived with others in the company under his wife's care until she and the leading man of the company, Thomas Betterton, obtained a marriage license on Christmas Eve in 1662. Their marriage lasted for some 48 years under "the strictest amity" until her husband's death in 1710. Mrs. Betterton was different than many other English actresses, in that she attracted no public chatter or gossip about her personal life; she was simply not interested in enticing any foolish blather about her life off stage.
Elizabeth Farley
Samuel Pepys hinted on 11th January 1668 that Elizabeth Farley was for a brief period after the Restoration a mistress of Charles II but by the end of the 1660-1661 theatrical season she was known as Mrs. Weaver. In 1662 she announced she was leaving the stage after it was discovered she was pregnant.
Rebecca Marshall
Rebecca Marshall (1663 – 1677) was was the younger sister of Anne Marshall, another prominent actress of the period.
Samuel Pepys repeatedly refers to both Marshall sisters in his Diary; he calls the younger "Beck Marshall." Rebecca had a reputation as a beauty, which apparently caused her difficulties: she twice petitioned King Charles II for protection from obstreperous men in her audience and she had a habit of feuding with Nell Gwyn.
Doll Common
Katherine Corey (1660 – 1692) had one of the longest careers of any actress in her generation. In "The humble petition of Katherine Corey", she stated that she "was the first and is the last of all the actresses that were constituted by King Charles the Second at His Restauration."
Correy started her career under her maiden name, Mitchell, but was Mrs. Corey by 1663. "Mrs Corey was a big woman with a gift for comedy. She was popular in a variety of roles, but especially in old women parts: scolding wives, mothers, governesses, waiting women, and bawds." In his Diary, Samuel Pepys, who admired Corey's talents, calls her "Doll Common" after her part in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist.
Mary Betterton
Mary Betterton is a descendant (Granddaughter) of Richard Burbage, one of William Shakespeares men, one of the first and most famous shakespearian actors. Her most notable accomplishments are her being the first female actress to portray several of Shakespeare's woman characters on the professional stage. Sir William Davenant hired her to perform for the Duke's company in 1661. She lived with others in the company under his wife's care until she and the leading man of the company, Thomas Betterton, obtained a marriage license on Christmas Eve in 1662. Their marriage lasted for some 48 years under "the strictest amity" until her husband's death in 1710. Mrs. Betterton was different than many other English actresses, in that she attracted no public chatter or gossip about her personal life; she was simply not interested in enticing any foolish blather about her life off stage.
April de Angelis
This is not the first time we have read a play by de Angelis: in 2013 we read Jumpy, a modern play about the interactions between a single mother and her teenage daughter - unfortunately it was before this blog was started and I have no record to re-use!
Born circa 1960, de Angelis is of part-Sicilian descent. In the 1980s she started out as an actress, but since then has become known as a writer of many successful plays and a librettist. Her plays tend to be an examination of history, feminist and comic!
Born circa 1960, de Angelis is of part-Sicilian descent. In the 1980s she started out as an actress, but since then has become known as a writer of many successful plays and a librettist. Her plays tend to be an examination of history, feminist and comic!
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