Rehearsal in Betterton’s Theatre

This chapter focuses on the years 1640–1710 — the ‘Restoration period’. Buckingham's play The Rehearsal provides an initial focus, distanced as it is from actual English rehearsal by its author's familiarity with the French method. The early Restoration theatre is investigated, with a look at what it inherited from Elizabethan performance practice and what it borrowed from the Continent. It examines rehearsal itself, from the distribution and learning of parts, to the group rehearsal and production of plays. This chapter focuses on both amateur authors, who were generally excluded from the preparation of their plays, and on professional authors, who are shown losing power to the manager and the actors. It also examines the nature of extant texts and the effect the first night has on textual stability.

Aesthetics · Amateur · Art · Art history · Buckingham · Extant taxon · Literature · Period (music) · Power (physics) · Rehearsing · Visual arts · Historical Art and Culture Studies · History · Philippine History and Culture · Psychology