''The Assignation, or Love in a Nunnery'' is a Restoration comedy written by

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 per ...

. The play was first acted late in

1672 Events January–March * January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "upon any warrant, secur ...

, 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 wit ...

at their theatre at

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 ...

, but was not a success with its audience. Apart from the question of the play's quality — many critics have regarded it as a rush job, written mainly in prose with some blank verse — Dryden was suspected of anti-Catholic satire, especially in his choice of a subtitle. This was a sensitive issue at the time, given strong Catholic sympathies among some elements of the royal court — primarily the Duke of York, the future King James II. The cast of the original production included

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 the Duke of Mantua,

Edward Kynaston Edward Kynaston may refer to: *Edward Kynaston (actor) (c. 1640–1712), English actor *Edward Kynaston (1709–1772) Edward Kynaston (6 October 1709–1772), of Garth and Bryngwyn, Montgomeryshire and Hardwick, Shropshire, was a British landow ...

as Prince Frederick, Charles Hart as Aurelian, Joseph Haines as Benito, William Cartwright as Mario, and Nicholas Burt as Camillo. The role of Hyppolita, the nun, was taken by

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 ...

; Rebecca Marshall played Lucretia, Elizabeth James was Sophronia,

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 ...

was Laura and Elizabeth Cox was Violetta. Dryden drew plot material from a play by

Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (, ; ; 17 January 160025 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, writer and knight of the Order of Santiago. He is known as one of the most distinguished Baroque ...

titled ''Con quien vengo vengo.'' ''The Assignation'' was published in

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

1673 Events January–March * January 22 – Impostor Mary Carleton is hanged at Newgate Prison in London, for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation. * February 10 – Molière's ''comédie-ballet'' ''The Imag ...

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 publis ...

. Dryden dedicated the play to Sir Charles Sedley.Steven N. Zwicker, ed., ''The Cambridge Companion to John Dryden'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004; p. 207. The play was republished in 1678 and 1692.

References

Plays by John Dryden English Restoration plays Restoration comedy 1672 plays Plays set in the 17th century Adaptations of works by Pedro Calderón de la Barca {{17thC-play-stub

See also

References