Arrested Perceptions of Restoration Drama
Generally speaking, when people hear mention of Restoration drama, they think of bawdy, witty social comedies. As it so happens, comedy as a genre did not become popular (again) until the late 1660′s, the first decade of the period consisting largely of revivals and new works by lesser playwrights in the vein of these revivals. … Read more
Raconteur: Or, Once Upon a Play(wright)
Raconteur: Or, Once upon a Play(wright) We have all told our own story, or at least parts of it, to someone. We have all been out somewhere and overheard someone telling someone else another person’s story. Something like this: “I knew a guy once (upon a time) who…” or “There was this old lady who … Read more
Before Gaga, There Was Aphra: “Or,” Liz Duffy Adams’ Bisexual Bombshell.
Before Gaga, There Was Aphra: Or, Liz Duffy Adams’ Bisexual Bombshell (Review) For more than a century, scholars, activists, and playwrights have found personal, political, and literary inspiration in writings by and about Oscar Wilde, catapulting the 19th century Anglo-Irish author to mythic status as an icon for the contemporary gay movement. The 17th century authoress Aphra Behn is now experiencing something akin … Read more
Aphra Behn’s The Dutch Lover: A Comedy
Aphra Behn’s The Dutch Lover: A Comedy 3 down, 15 to go. As Liz Duffy’s Or, now playing at Women’s Project in NYC, continues to endear itself to audiences, I continue to plug through the 18 plays written by Duffy’s central heroine–Restoration playwright Aphra Behn. Premiere and Publication The Dutch Lover, Behn’s third play, was … Read more
The Forc’d Marriage, Or The Jealous Bridegroom
The Forc’d Marriage, Or The Jealous Bridegroom. A Tragi-Comedy by Aphra Behn. This, Behn’s first play, is believed to have premiered on Tuesday, September 20, 1671, though it was not entered in the Term Catalogues until February 1671. While it is an original work, scholars have found echoes of earlier works in it, including Shakepeare’s Othello (1604), Beaumont … Read more
Aphra Who?
Aphra Who? You know her, the old school (proto)feminist writer all the new school feminist writers are cutting their proverbial teeth on these days. Thanks to efforts made by scholars and historians over the past few decades, Aphra Behn enjoys a vibrant afterlife these days–a lively one, indeed, for a female playwright from the 17th … Read more
