The Stepmother (1663 Play)
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The Stepmother (1663 Play)
''The Stepmother'' or ''The Step-Mother'' is a 1663 tragicomedy by the English writer Robert Stapylton. It was first staged by the Duke's Company, premiering at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. The original cast included Samuel Sandford as Sylvanus, Thomas Betterton as Filamor, John Young as Adolph, Cave Underhill as Tetrick, Joseph Price as Fromund, William Smith as Crispus, Matthew Medbourne as Capito, Mary Betterton as Caesarina, Moll Davis Mary "Moll" Davis (c. 1648 – 1708), also spelt Davies or Davys, was a courtesan and mistress of King Charles II of England. She was an actress and entertainer before and during her role as royal mistress. Early life Mary Davis was born in ... as Violinda and Jane Long as Brianella.Van Lennep p.71 References Bibliography * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. 1663 plays West End plays Comedy plays Plays by Robert Stapylton {{17thC-play ...
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Robert Stapylton
Sir Robert Stapylton or Stapleton (died 1669) was an English courtier, dramatic poet and translator. Life Stapylton was the third son of Richard Stapleton of Carlton by Snaith, Yorkshire, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Pierrepont of Holme Pierrepont. He was educated in the Benedictine convent of St. Gregory at Douai, where he became a professed monk of the order on 30 March 1625. He left the Benedictines, turned Protestant, and was appointed one of the gentlemen in ordinary of the privy chamber to Prince Charles. He followed the king when Charles left London at the outbreak of the First English Civil War, and was knighted at Nottingham on 13 September 1642. After the battle of Edgehill he accompanied the king to Oxford, where he was created D.C.L. in November 1642. He remained at Oxford until its surrender to Thomas Fairfax in May 1645. Under the Commonwealth he lived a studious life, and at the Restoration he was made one of the gentlemen ushers to the privy chamber. ...
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William Smith (stage Actor)
William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University College, Oxford * William Smith (scholar) (1711–1787), classical scholar and Anglican Dean of Chester * William Smith (Episcopal priest) (1727–1803), First Provost of the University of Pennsylvania * William Pitt Smith (1760–1796), American physician, educator and theological writer * William Smith (lexicographer) (1813–1893), English lexicographer * William Robertson Smith (1846–1894), philologist, physicist, archaeologist, and Biblical critic * William Benjamin Smith (1850–1934), professor of mathematics at Tulane University * William Ramsay Smith (1859–1937), Australian anthropologist * William Hall Smith (1866–?), President of the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1916–1920 * William Cunningham Smith (18 ...
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West End Plays
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance languages (''ouest'' in French, ''oest'' in Catalan, ''ovest'' in Italian, ''oeste'' in Spanish and Portuguese). As in other languages, the word formation stems from the fact that west is the direction of the setting sun in the evening: 'west' derives from the Indo-European root ''*wes'' reduced from ''*wes-pero'' 'evening, night', cognate with Ancient Greek ἕσπερος hesperos 'evening; evening star; western' and Latin vesper 'evening; west'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin occidens 'west' from occidō 'to go down, to set' and Hebrew מַעֲרָב maarav 'west' from עֶרֶב erev 'evening'. Navigation To go west using a compass for navigation (in a place where magnetic north is the same dire ...
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1663 Plays
Events January–March * January 10 – The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter by Charles II of England. * January 23 – The Treaty of Ghilajharighat is signed in India between representatives of the Mughal Empire and the independent Ahom Kingdom (in what is now the Assam state), with the Mughals ending their occupation of the Ahom capital of Garhgaon, in return for payment by Ahom in silver and gold for costs of the occupation, and King Sutamla of Ahom sending one of his daughters to be part of the harem of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. * February 5 - A magnitude 7.3 to 7.9 earthquake hits Canada's Quebec Province. * February 8 – English pirates led by Christopher Myngs and Edward Mansvelt carry out the sack of Campeche in Mexico, looting the town during a two week occupation that ends on February 23. * February 10 – The army of the Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) captures Chiang Mai from the Kingdom of Burma (now Myanmar), usi ...
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Jane Long (actress)
Jane Long was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. She was recruited into the Duke's Company after the theatres were repopened following the Restoration and became a noted comedienne, at a time when the Restoration comedy genre was flourishing.Howe p.75-76 Selected roles * Laughing Jane in ''The Cutter of Coleman Street'' by Abraham Cowley (1661) * Flora in ''The Adventures of Five Hours'' by Samuel Tuke (1663) * Diacelia in '' The Slighted Maid'' by Robert Stapylton (1663) * Brianella in '' The Stepmother'' by Robert Stapylton (1663) * Widow in ''The Comical Revenge'' by George Etheredge (1664) * Leucippe in ''The Rivals'' by William Davenant (1664) * Zarma in '' Mustapha'' by Roger Boyle (1665) * Mandanda in ''The Women's Conquest'' by Edward Howard (1670) * Mrs Brittle in '' The Amorous Widow'' by Thomas Betterton (1670) * Crispina in ''The Six Days' Adventure'' by Edward Howard (1671) * Fickle in ''The Town Shifts'' by Edward Revet (1671) * Paulina in ''Jul ...
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Moll Davis
Mary "Moll" Davis (c. 1648 – 1708), also spelt Davies or Davys, was a courtesan and mistress of King Charles II of England. She was an actress and entertainer before and during her role as royal mistress. Early life Mary Davis was born in Westminster, as a presumed illegitimate child of Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Berkshire. The eminent diarist Samuel Pepys wrote of Mary as "… a bastard of Collonell Howard, my Lord Barkeshire." Her parentage is also attributed to Thomas' elder brother Charles Howard. Mary's birth is often contradicted, though it is believed to be around 1648. In 1663 Mary had installed herself as an actress in the Duke's Theatre Company, and boarded with the company's manager, Sir William Davenant.Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson, ''Davis avies; married name Paisible Mary oll(c.1651–1708), actress and royal mistress'' in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004) There she quickly became a popular singer, dancer and ...
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Mary Betterton
Mary Saunderson (1637–1712), later known as Mary Saunderson Betterton after her marriage to Thomas Betterton, was an actress and singer in England during the 1660s and 1690s. She is considered one of the first English actresses. Stage career Her most notable accomplishments are her being the first female actress to portray several of Shakespeare's woman characters on the professional stage. She was the first to portray Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'', Lady Macbeth in ''Macbeth'', and other female roles in '' The Tempest'', ''Hamlet'' (as Ophelia), ''Measure for Measure'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''King Lear''. In Shakespeare's day, female roles were played by teenage boys, as women and young girls were not allowed on the stage. By the 1660s, however, the laws in England had changed, allowing females to act professionally. Mary's connections through her husband, Thomas, who was also a famous actor, allowed her to play several significant roles. Saunderso ...
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Matthew Medbourne
Matthew Medbourne (died 1680) was an English stage actor and occasional playwright of the Restoration era. A long-standing member of the Duke's Theatre, Medbourne was a victim of the Popish Plot scare and died in Newgate Prison. Medbourne was a Roman Catholic, but little is known about him before he emerged as a member of the Duke's Company at Lincoln's Inn Fields during the 1661–62 season. His first confirmed role is as Delio in ''The Duchess of Malfi'' in 1662. Around the time of the Great Plague, he wrote a play ''Saint Cecily'', a tragedy which was never acted.In December 1669 he was arrested for disorderly conduct, and was suspended from the Duke's Company for a period but was fully returned by 1671. In 1670 he had written a version of ''Tartuffe'' which was staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He remained with the Duke's at the new Dorset Garden Theatre until 1678. In October 1678 Medbourne was accused of High Treason during the scare of Popish Plot. He was arrested a ...
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Cave Underhill
Cave Underhill (1634–1710?) was an English actor in comedy roles. Underhill entertained three generations of London theatre-goers. For over 40 years, as a member of the Duke's Company, Underhill played the first Gravedigger in ''Hamlet''. He was also successful in playing Gregory in ''Romeo and Juliet'', the clown in ''Twelfth Night'', and Trinculo in '' The Tempest''. Early life The son of Nicholas Underhill, a clothworker, he was born in St. Andrew's parish, Holborn, London, on 17 March 1634, and was admitted to Merchant Taylors' School in January 1645. He became first a member of the acting company which was gathered by John Rhodes. around Thomas Betterton. He was then recruited for Sir William D'Avenant and the Duke of York's company at the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields. In 1663 he was fined in an assault case, with Betterton and James Noke. Stage career The first character to which Underhill's name appears is Sir Morglay Thwack in D'Avenant's comedy ''The Wits'', re ...
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Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre
Lisle's Tennis Court was a building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, the theatre was called Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse, also known as The Duke's Playhouse, The New Theatre or The Opera. The building was demolished and replaced by a purpose-built theatre for a third period, 1714–1728. The tennis court theatre was the first public playhouse in London to feature the moveable scenery that would become a standard feature of Restoration theatres. Historical background The period beginning in England in 1642 and lasting until 1660 is known as the Interregnum, meaning "between kings." At this time, there was no monarch on the throne, and theatre was against the law. Spanning from 1642 to 1649, the English Civil War occurred. This war was an uprising against the current King of England, King Charles ...
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John Young (stage Actor)
John Young was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was active as a member of the Duke's Company during the Restoration Era, appearing at Lincoln's Inn Fields and then at the Dorset Garden Theatre when the company relocated. While not much is known about his background, he was repeatedly in debt during his acting career. In 1667 he stood in for Thomas Betterton after he fell ill during the run of '' Macbeth'' appearing as the title role. Samuel Pepys described him as "a bad actor at best".Roberts p.99 Selected roles * Cardinal in ''The Duchess of Malfi'' by John Webster (1662) * Bontefeu in '' The Villain'' by Thomas Porter (1663) * Octavio in ''The Adventures of Five Hours'' by Samuel Tuke (1663) * Corbulo in '' The Slighted Maid'' by Robert Stapylton (1663) * Adolph in '' The Stepmother'' by Robert Stapylton (1663) * Arcon in ''The Rivals'' by William Davenant (1664) * Cardinal of Veradium in '' Mustapha'' by Roger Boyle (1665) * Lord Dartmouth in '' Sir ...
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Thomas Betterton
Thomas Patrick Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Apprentice and actor Betterton was born in August 1635 in Tothill Street, Westminster.''The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge'', Vol.III, London, Charles Knight, 1847, p.273 He was apprenticed to John Holden, Sir William Davenant's publisher, and possibly later to a bookseller named John Rhodes, who had been wardrobe-keeper at the Blackfriars Theatre. In 1659, Rhodes obtained a license to set up a company of players at the Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane; and on the reopening of this theatre in 1660, Betterton made his first appearance on the stage. Betterton's talents at once brought him into prominence, and he was given leading parts. On the opening of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1661, Davenant, the patentee of the Duke's Company, engaged Betterton and all Rhodes's co ...
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