The Theatrical Context

Abstract

Congreve began writing during the reign of William and Mary. However his plays are normally labelled as belonging to the Restoration period in works of literary or theatre history. It is not difficult to see why. The theatres for which he wrote were initially those of Restoration England. In the 1690s, Wren’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, was still the leading playhouse in London, while the Duke’s Playhouse at Dorset Garden, though used less frequently, was nevertheless available for spectacular scenic productions. Equally the staging conventions of the Restoration theatre with its clear division between forestage and scenic stage were still utilised by contemporary playwrights: a forestage to which access was given by a pair of practical doors and on which most of the acting took place, and an upstage scenic area with wings and shutters providing a visual framework for the action.