''The Forc'd Marriage; or, The Jealous Bridegroom'' is a play by

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

, staged by the

Duke's Company The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During hats period, theatres b ...

on 20 September 1670 in

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

, London, England. This sex

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

ran for six nights, which granted Behn the house profits for both the third and six nights. It is considered her first staged play.

Thomas Otway Thomas Otway (3 March 165214 April 1685) was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for ''Venice Preserv'd'', or ''A Plot Discover'd'' (1682). Life Otway was born at Trotton near Midhurst, the parish of which his father, H ...

played a "probation part."

Plot

Like ''The Amorous Prince'' and ''The Young King'', ''The Forc'd Marriage'' draws heavily on Caroline stage effects, such as the use of the masque, disguise and costume. It features themes of proper authority in royal succession as well as Behn's recurrent concerns with interactions of sex, power and state politics.Janet Todd, 'Behn, Aphra (1640?-1689)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. In this class-based comedy, the king forces the protagonist, Erminia, to marry Alcippus, a military man. But Erminia is in love with the king's son, Philander. And Philander's sister Galatea is in love with Alcippus, who is Philander's best friend. This awkward situation leads to the best friends becoming worst enemies and planning a duel (especially as both men fancy Erminia. So Erminia says she'll marry Alcippus but not sleep with him - not an acceptable solution for Alcippus. A series of farcical situations, mistaken identities and disguises follow, with the equality of women a thematic thread through the narrative.

Print history

It was first published by H. L. and R. B. for James Magnus in Russell Street, 1671, with

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

of 28 lines and

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

"By a woman" of 18 lines. The play was advertised in

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an England, English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth; Dr Lee was ...

's ''Theodosius'', 1680, and in

John Crowne John Crowne (6 April 1641 – 1712) was a British dramatist. His father "Colonel" William Crowne, accompanied the earl of Arundel on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1637, and wrote an account of his journey. He emigrated to Nova Scotia where h ...

's ''The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus Vespasion, the Second Part'', 1677.

Stage history

Originally performed Tuesday 20 September 1670 to open the season of the Duke's Company. It initiated Behn's career working for the Duke's Company under the leadership of

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 16 ...

, who also played the role of Alcippus. The prologue included the lines "The Poetess, too, they say / Has spies abroad," referring both to Behn's gender and her past as a spy. It was spoken by the character of Falatius, who wore an eye patch, a stage prop indicating the secretary of state Lord Arlington, who supposedly abandoned her on her intelligence mission in Antwerp. For the first performance at least, contemporary records say that Thomas Otway, the poet, did not perform well: "The full House put him to such a Sweat and Tremendous, Agony, being dash't, spoil him for an Actor."

Original cast

The original cast includes:

Men

*Mr. Westwood (King) * Mr. Smith (Philander) * Mr. Betterton (Alcippus) *Mr. Norris (Orguilious) *

Mr. Young ''Mr. Young'' is a Canadian television series that premiered on March 1, 2011, on YTV. The series was filmed in Burnaby, British Columbia. The series was created by Dan Signer (who also worked on Disney Channel series such as ''The Suite Life on ...

(Alcander) * Mr. Cademan (Pisauro) * Mr. Angel (Falatio ic * Mr. Crosby (Cleontius)

Women

*Mrs. Jennings (Galatea) * Mrs. Betterton (Erminia) *Mrs. Wright (Aminta) * Mrs. Lee (Olinda) *Mrs. Clough (Isillia)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forc'd Marriage 1670 plays Plays by Aphra Behn