Actresses

Female Actors

Before the theatres were closed down in 1642, female characters in the plays were usually played by males, often young boys, although women already took over some minor roles in e.g. mystery plays. When the theatres were reopened in 1660, i.a. the shortage of actors lead to the inclusion of women in female roles.

The First Woman on Stage

In December 1660, the first women appeared on stage in the role of Desdemona in Thomas Killigrew’s production of Othello. A prologue was written “to introduce the first Woman that came to act on the stage in the tragedy called the Moor of Venice: The Woman playes today, mistake me not, No Man in Gown, or Page in Petty-Coat” On 3 January 1661, Pepys recorded in his diary that when he went to see a play at the King’s Company it was “the first time that ever I saw Women come upon the stage”.

Reasons

But apart from the shortage of actors, the reasons why the female characters were accepted have a more social and cultural background. During the Restoration, the sexual relation between men and women changed and women were granted their own individuality, they were seen as the opposite sex, yet they were still excluded from the public male sphere. Before 1660, women already acted in court privacy, but were not fully accepted. This difference is due to the change in the audience. During the Interregnum, Charles II and the court spent much time abroad on the Continent where actresses were a normal feature. When the king returned to power in 1660, he supported the actresses in England; this was to be seen at the two theatres which were opened. The audience was more exclusive than in the Renaissance period where ‘everyone’ could see a play for one penny, and its favour for the court explained the acceptance of women in the performances.

The Two Companies

Both Killigrew from the King’s Company and Davenant from the Duke’s Compny started to recruit some actresses. Davenant recruited: Hester Davenport, Mary Saunderson, Jane Long, Anne Gibbs, Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. Norris. Killigrew recruited: Katherine Corey, Anne Marshall; Mrs. Eastland and Mrs. Weaver (Elizabeth Farley).

Law and Women’s status

By the middle of 1661, actresses were a proper part of the theatres in England. Men acting in female roles were not seen as serious anymore, their status became more one of curiosity. In 1662, the casting of women for theatres became a law: “we do […] permit and give leave that all the women’s parts to be acted in either of the said two companies for the time to come may be performed by women”. But the status of women in the workplace and their exclusion from the public sphere and executing power is still visible: the percentage of male actors was always higher and during the first years no women was allowed to be a sharer in one of the companies. William Davenant’s wife overtook the role of the manager after his death in 1668 until in 1673 her son was old enough to step in his father’s place. But even during Mrs. Davenant’s time as a manager, the actresses were low paid, and if they were married their husbands controlled their earnings. This might be the reason why the two most paid actresses Elizabeth Barry and Anne Bracegirdle remained unmarried.

Sources

Brunkhorst, Martin. Drama und Theater der Restaurationszeit. Heidelberg: Winter, 1985.

Howe, Elizabeth. The first English Actresses: Women and Drama. Cambridge: University Press, 1992.