![Thomas Betterton by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Thomas_Betterton_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller%2C_Bt.jpg)
Thomas Patrick Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and
theatre manager
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to
King Charles I, was born in
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
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
Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bot ...
's publisher, and possibly later to a bookseller named
John Rhodes, who had been wardrobe-keeper at the
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child acto ...
. In 1659, Rhodes obtained a license to set up a company of players at the
Cockpit Theatre
The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was named The Phoenix.
History
The original building was an actual cockpit; that is, a st ...
in
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster.
Notable landmarks ...
; 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
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 ...
in 1661, Davenant, the patentee of 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 ...
, engaged Betterton and all Rhodes's company to play in his ''
The Siege of Rhodes
''The Siege of Rhodes'' is an opera written to a text by the impresario William Davenant. The score is by five composers, the vocal music by Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, and Captain Henry Cooke, and the instrumental music by Charles Coleman and G ...
''. Also in 1661 he played Prince Alvaro in Davenant's ''
Love and Honour''. Betterton, besides being a public favourite, was held in high esteem by
Charles II, who sent him to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to examine stage improvements there. According to Cibber, after his return to England, it was the first time that the shifting scenes replaced tapestry in an English theatre.
In 1662 he married the actress
Mary Saunderson
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 ...
(died 1712). She started her professional career playing some major female roles in Shakespeare's plays. She and her husband Thomas Betterton shared the stage in a production of ''Hamlet'', in which she played Ophelia, opposite to Betterton's Hamlet.
In the meantime, she was also her husband's consultant and business partner. In an age when the profession of acting was often thought as notorious and indecent, and actors, both male and female were unfairly criticized as whores, the Bettertons were still regarded as respectable. They were invited to teach the children from noble and royal families to perform John Crowne's ''Calisto'', 1675, in the last Stuart court Masque.
In appearance he was athletic, slightly above middle height, with a tendency to stoutness; his voice was strong rather than melodious, but in recitation it was used with the greatest dexterity.
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 ...
,
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
,
Steele
Steele may refer to:
Places America
* Steele, Alabama, a town
* Steele, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Steele, Kentucky, an unincorporated community
* Steele, Missouri, a city
* Lonetree, Montana, a ghost town originally called Steele ...
, and
Cibber Cibber is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Caius Gabriel Cibber, Danish sculptor; father of Colley Cibber
* Charlotte Cibber, English actress, playwright, novelist, autobiographer, and noted transvestite
*Colley Cibber, British ...
all bestow lavish praise on his acting. His repertory included a large number of
Shakespearian
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
roles, many of them presented in the versions adapted by
Davenant,
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 peri ...
,
Shadwell
Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has meant ...
and
Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate ( ; 1652 – 30 July 1715) was an Irish poet, hymnist and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Tate is best known for ''The History of King Lear'', his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', and for his libretto for ...
. Even though those adapted versions did not receive critical acclaim, they did not harm or shadow Betterton's acting either. Still, his performances were largely praised.
He played Lear opposite
Elizabeth Barry
Elizabeth Barry (1658 – 7 November 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period.
Elizabeth Barry's biggest influence on Restoration drama was her presentation of performing as the tragic actress. She worked in large, prestigious L ...
's Cordelia in Tate's
modified version of Shakespeare's ''King Lear''. Betterton was himself author of several adaptations which were popular in their day.
Actor and manager
From Davenant's death in 1668, Betterton was the de facto manager and director of 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 ...
, and from the merger of London's two theatre companies in 1682, he continued to fulfill these functions in the new United Company. Enduring progressively worse conditions and terms in this money-grubbing monopoly (see
Restoration spectacular
The Restoration spectacular was a type of theatre production of the late 17th-century Restoration period that is defined by the amount of money, time, sets, and performers required to produce. These productions attracted and enticed audiences w ...
and
Restoration comedy), the top actors walked out in 1695 and set up a cooperative company 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 ...
under Betterton's leadership. The new company opened with the premiere of
Congreve's ''
Love for Love
''Love for Love'' is a Restoration comedy written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered on 30 April 1695 at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. Staged by Thomas Betterton's company the original cast included Betterton as Valenti ...
'' with an all-star cast including Betterton as Valentine and
Anne Bracegirdle
Anne Bracegirdle (possibly 167112 September 1748) was an English actress.
Biography
Bracegirdle was born to Justinian and Martha (born Furniss) Bracegirdle in Northamptonshire. She was baptised in Northampton on 15 November 1671, although her to ...
as Angelica. But in a few years the profits fell off; and Betterton, laboring under the infirmities of age and
gout
Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
, determined to quit the stage. At his benefit performance, when the profits are said to have been over
£500, he played Valentine in ''Love for Love''.
Betterton's career not only spans the period of Restoration theatre, it also marks its high point.
There was a period of time when the size of theatre audience started to reduce, in order to revive people's interest in theatre, he invented new stage machines at
Dorset Garden Theatre
The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the D ...
, transposed ''The Prophetess'' into an opera, and introduced French singers and dancers to the Restoration stage.
He also built the first permanent theatre fully equipped with Italianate machinery. Additionally, he invested in remodeling the tennis court in the Lincoln's Inn Fields and built a new theatre there, therefore in addition to his salary, he also received a small amount of "rent" fees for each performance done there.
Betterton worked with all of the most significant playwrights of his age and the first generation of English actresses.
During his time, with the exception of
William Mountfort
William Mountfort (c. 1664 – 10 December 1692), England, English actor and dramatic writer, was the son of a Staffordshire gentleman.
Biography
His first stage appearance was with the Dorset Garden Theatre company about 1678, and by 168 ...
, who gained a versatility in terms of portraying roles, most of Betterton's contemporary actors deliberately restricted themselves to certain popular character-types. However Betterton had more than 120 different roles from the genres such as heroic drama, Jonsonian comedy, comedies of manners, tragicomedies by Beaumont and Fletcher, and tragedies, comedies and histories by Shakespeare.
At the age of seventy-five, he claimed, "He was yet learning to be an actor."
The first acting guide published in English was ''The Life of Mr Thomas Betterton'', which was mainly a pastiche from French rhetoric manuals with passages borrowed from English plays.
Betterson's innovation in scenery and theatre management, and his contributions to theatre making shaped the culture of English theatre.
Betterton performed to within fifteen days of his death.
Three days before his death at seventy-five,
he made his last appearance on the stage in 1710, as Melantius in ''
The Maid's Tragedy
''The Maid's Tragedy'' is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was first published in 1619.
The play has provoked divided responses from critics.
Date
The play's date of origin is not known with certainty. In 1611, Sir George Buck ...
''. He died shortly afterwards, and was buried in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. From his debut as an actor in 1659 to his last appearance in 1710, his fifty-year career stretched nearly to the end of Stuart Dynasty. Thomas Betterton's death marks the end of a generation.
In popular culture
Betterton is portrayed by
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...
in the 2004 film ''
Stage Beauty
''Stage Beauty'' is a 2004 romantic period drama directed by Richard Eyre. The screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher is based on his play ''Compleat Female Stage Beauty'', which was inspired by references to 17th-century actor Edward Kynaston made in th ...
''. Wilkinson was in his mid 50s at the time, yet the film is set around 1662, when Betterton would have been younger than 30.
Selected roles
* ''
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
'' by
Nicholas Rowe (1701)
Notes
References
*
*
*Robert William Lowe, ''Thomas Betterton'' (1891)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betterton, Thomas
1630s births
1710 deaths
English male stage actors
English male Shakespearean actors
17th-century English male actors
18th-century English male actors
Male actors from London
Actor-managers
17th-century theatre managers