A monopolylogue is a form of entertainment in which one actor plays many characters. Pioneered by English actor

Charles Mathews Charles Mathews (28 June 1776, London – 28 June 1835, Devonport) was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well known during his time for his gift of impersonation and skill at table entertainment. His play ''At Home'', in which he pla ...

and Albert Smith and first used in 1824, later used in Shakespearen performances by the performer

Henry Kemble Henry Kemble (1 June 1848 – 17 November 1907) was a British actor. A member of the famed Kemble family, he was the grandson of Charles Kemble. Life He was born in London, the son of Henry Kemble, a captain of the 37th Foot, and educated at Ma ...

from 1846 to 1859. Matthews referred to the genre meaning where he would play "half a dozen characters", and he would switch between characters through quickly changing costumes,

ventriloquism Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...

, and "sharp differentiation of character". The genre is believed to had influence on the writings of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. The term and genre has been revived in the late 20th and early 21st century.

References

{{Reflist Theatrical genres