User:Bishonen/WIP New Restoration comedy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Restoration comedy is the name given to English sex comedies written and performed in the Restoration period 1660—1700. After public stage performances had been banned for 18 years during the Commonwealth, the re-opening of the theatres in 1660 signalled a rebirth of English drama. Of the about 375 new plays performed between 1660 and 1700, xxxxxx were comedies. Restoration comedy is famous or notorious for its sexual explicitness, a quality encouraged by Charles II (1660—1685) personally and by the macho aristocratic ethos of his court. Wide and socially mixed audiences were attracted to the comedies by up-to-the-minute topical writing, frequent fashion changes, bustling plots, and the thrilling introduction of the first professional actresses.