Write 7 pages with APA style on Restoration Theatre
The Restoration drama was widely popular for its sexual explicitness in its sex comedies which gained widespread popularity and acclaim especially owing to the introduction of first-ever female actresses on stage. Prior to the foray of female actors on stage, all the roles of the female actors were performed by males. In the latter half of the seventeenth century, there was observed an immense development in the field of drama and theatre and the choice of subjects which became bolder and devoid of sexual inhibitions.
The Restoration Theater was highly influenced by huge social ambiguity, involving sex, gender, and political might. The period post-1660s was characterized by the emergence of a sexual market place which includes prostitution and homosexuals and the same has been mentioned in the drama of that era with homosexuality, sadomasochism, voyeurism, libertinism, and prostitution were dominant themes. Such developments were met with widespread criticism and moral disfavor. The period saw the unrestrained misconduct of the royals including the kings which was often perceived as their dishonesty and disloyalty towards their own kingdom. Such promiscuous behavior which challenged the concept of masculinity was aptly interpreted in the drama (Owen, 1996).
In All for love the author John Dryden, upraises the central character of the story as one who laments frequently, resists fights, and yet is marvelous and charming. while in Troilus and Cressida, the author disparages the male character. However, the portrayal of women in drama suggested a severe paradox. Although the onset of libertinism was perceived as a misogynistic philosophy and the one that consented to the desires of males rather than females and comprehended women as prey, it opened up avenues that asserted the sovereignty of expressing sexual desires.
Women were given opportunities to become actresses and playwrights which is, even today, considered to be significant progress of innate connotation in the field of theatre and drama. .
