History of Theatre: Renaissance and Restoration Theatre

The Renaissance
The era of Renaissance theatre happened after the Reformation, where the Church of
England broke away from papal control and Rome. In this era, plays replaced a large majority
of the general public’s moral teaching and where they got it. The increase in attendance to
plays meant that costumes could become more colourful and interesting, which meant that
costumes were often contemporary exaggerated translations of historical dress rather than
accurate representations.
It is in this era when playwrights became celebrities of the day, rather than scholars as
Aeschylus and Sophocles had been in ancient Greece. William Shakespeare and Christopher
Marlowe wrote plays that drew large crowds, and were regarded as self-made men, as they
had came from humble backgrounds and worked for their success. Women were still not
allowed to be professional or amateur dramatists, and female characters were played by
younger male actors with padding to give the appearance of curves and cleavage.
As an addition to tragedy and tragicomedy, historical and morality plays emerged portraying
stories to educate and inform.
The Renaissance era ended in 1642, as the Puritan movement gathered power and deemed
enjoyment as sinful, wrong and against the Lord. This resulted in London theatres, such as
the Globe, the Curtain Theatre and the Red Bull being closed.

Restoration Theatre
Restoration theatre emerged after 18 years of Puritan rule, where theatres were closed and
plays were banned. Restoration theatre rebelled against every aspect of the Puritan belief, by
being brash, bawdy and rude in opposition to the demure and serious Puritan ideals.
King Charles II was in rule and openly encouraged the lewd and hypersexualised plays. This
also introduced the idea of female players, with the first being Aphra Behn. Actors also began
to appeal to direct aristocratic and middle class audiences by becoming more self aware of
their fans.
They did this by accepting applause when they came onstage. This applause could last for
minutes, where the actor would absorb the adoration until the crowd decided he could
continue. They would then emphasise the first few words and shouting and elongating
syllables. Playwrights also exploited their more educated and socially aware audiences by
writing satirical plays based on current events and scandals.
Costume became raunchier, as women would wear very deep dresses, showing a lot of
cleavage and skirts, which showed thighs and bum. Men would wear very tight knee length
trousers with stockings over their calves. Men also often wore carved wood in their stockings
to accentuate their calves, as women in the audience would be more attracted to a man with
large calves.
Theatres were no longer outdoor amphitheatres, as theatre tried to distance itself from the
uncivilized working class by having smaller, more intimate theatres, which were lit by candles
as no natural light was used.
Sets were permanent fixtures with lots of embellishment and props, which was purely to let
the audience know a lot of money was spent of the production and make it seem more
desirable. This use of colour, sex and exclusivity directly rebelled against the Reformation.