Theatre Case

Drama during the restoration period was full of new ideas, including their acting style. The acting technique used came about when Charles II came back from France. While he was there, he saw many plays and was fascinated with the way they acted, and quickly adopted it. The restoration period used a style of acting called bombastic acting. This style of acting was more realistic, and less overly dramatic. It also involved sarcasm, satirizing the fakeness of society during that period. This style became very popular with the audience, and became the most used and widely known style of the era.

The theatre style of this era was also a relatively new idea. The stage had an apron, where candles and oil lamps used to light the stage would be placed. There would also often be a chandelier with candles hanging above the stage. The audiences were very small, however, they did have balcony seating. The theatre had high ceilings that were painted with elaborate designs, as was most of the theatre. The restoration period was the first time indoor, permanent stages had been used. When the restoration period ended, all but two of the theatres used during this time were destroyed, because the new king banned their style of drama.

During the restoration period in England, actors were paid based on how popular they were. The major change that happened in relation to actors was that women now had the right to perform onstage with the men, which led to women actresses also becoming popular. Ethanor "Nell" Gwyn was one such woman. Nell was a comic actress during this period, and one of the most popular of her timfor four years, from 1665-1669 until her acting career ended. Other famous actors of the Restoration period included Charles Macklin, Colley Cibber, Thomas Betterten, and David Garrick (who also managed the theatre on Drury Lane.

Set designs of plays throughout this period included flats and painted backgrounds, carefully placed to resemble backgrounds of various scenes. In order to create a new scene, two additional flats were pulled tightly together, creating a new background. These flats were called shutters, and would hide the original background. Flats are 4x8 bases of wood covered with fabric and painted to portray certain backgrounds. Philip Jacques de Loutherbourg was a designer during the 18th century. Known as one of the most innovative and influential of his time, Loutherbourg was the first designer to break up floor space with pieces of scenery to add more dimension and depth to the stage. Candles and oil lamps provided lighting and remained in the same spot on the apron throughout the play.