''An Evening's Love, or The Mock Astrologer'' is a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...

. It was first performed before Charles II and Queen Catherine by the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged wi ...

at the Theatre Royal on Bridges Street,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on Friday, 12 June 1668.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

saw the play on 20 June of that year, but didn't like it; in his Diary he called it "very smutty." The play was first published in

1671 Events January–March * January 1 – The Criminal Ordinance of 1670, the first attempt at a uniform code of criminal procedure in France, goes into effect after having been passed on August 26, 1670. * January 5 – The ...

Henry Herringman Henry Herringman (1628–1704) was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publi ...

; Dryden dedicated the work to

William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676) was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being patron of the playwright Ben Jonson, and the intellectual gr ...

. Dryden's sources for ''An Evening's Love'' include

Thomas Corneille Thomas Corneille (20 August 1625 – 8 December 1709) was a French lexicographer and dramatist. Biography Born in Rouen some nineteen years after his brother Pierre, the "great Corneille", Thomas's skill as a poet seems to have shown itself e ...

's comedy ''Le Feint Astrologue'',

Madeleine de Scudéry Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. Her works also demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received inst ...

's novel ''Ibrahim, ou l'Illustre Bassa'', and Calderón's comedy ''El Astrologo fingido'', as well as several other

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

works. The action of the play takes place in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

on the last night before

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

, 1665, and involves two young English gentlemen, Wildblood and Bellamy, and their comic servant Maskall, who fall in love with two beautiful young Spanish ladies, Donna Theodosia and Donna Jacinta, and their clever servant Beatrix. The original production featured Charles Hart as Wildblood,

Michael Mohun Michael Mohun (1616? – buried 11 October 1684) was a leading English actor both before and after the 1642–60 closing of the theatres. Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's the ...

as Bellamy,

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...

as Jacinta,

Nicholas Burt Nicholas Burt (1621 ? — after 1689), or Birt or Burght among other variants, was a prominent English actor of the seventeenth century. In a long career, he was perhaps best known as the first actor to play the role of Othello in the Restorat ...

as Don Lopez,

William Wintershall William Wintershall (died July 1679), also Wintersall or Wintersell, was a noted seventeenth-century English actor. His career spanned the difficult years of mid-century, when English theatres were closed from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civi ...

as Don Alonzo,

Robert Shatterell Robert Shatterell (baptized 10 November 1616–1684) was an English actor of the seventeenth century. He was one of the limited group of actors who began their careers in the final period of English Renaissance theatre, and resumed stage work in t ...

as Maskal,

Edward Lydall Edward Lydall was an English stage actor of the seventeenth century. He was a member of the King's Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.Wilson p.34 His first known performance was in 1668. He generally played supporting roles. His surname is s ...

as Don Melchor de Guzman,

Elizabeth Boutell Elizabeth Boutell (early 1650s?—1715), was a British actress. Life She joined, soon after its formation, the company at the Theatre Royal, subsequently known as Drury Lane, and was accordingly one of the first women to appear on the English s ...

as Donna Theodosia,

Anne Marshall Anne Marshall (fl. 1661 – 1682), also Mrs. Anne Quin, was a leading English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers to appear on the public stage in England. John Downes, in his ''Roscius Anglicanus ...

as Aurelia, and

Mary Knep Mary Knep (died 1681), also Knepp, Nepp, Knip, or Knipp, was an English actress and one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage during the Restoration era. Acting career Knep was primarily a singer and dancer ...

as Beatrix.Van Lennep 138

References

Bibliography

* Canfield, J. Douglas. ''Tricksters and Estates: On the Ideology of Restoration Comedy''. University Press of Kentucky, 2014. * Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. {{DEFAULTSORT:Evening's Love English Restoration plays 1668 plays Plays by John Dryden West End plays Restoration comedy Adaptations of works by Pedro Calderón de la Barca