Examining the major plays of George Etherege and William Wycherley within the context of the cultural and historical changes that marked the early years of Charles II's reign, this book addresses various issues such as marriage, manners, heroism and sovereignty that preoccupied late seventeenth-century Britain. In addition to exploring the plays as cultural and historical texts, this study offers performance histories that illuminate ways in which twentieth-century directors have altered and interpreted these plays to make them accessible to modern audiences.

Medieval Drama is a textbook, designed to be used by A level and undergraduate students of theatre and drama. It is divided into two major areas, mystery cycles and morality plays, and it examines the plays from a performance perspective. The book makes special reference to those texts contained within selections of plays which can be readily obtained by students, including A.C.Cawley's Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays (Dent). The staging conventions of pageant waggon performance, place and scaffold playing and the drama of the Hall are explored in relation to the cultural context of the...