''The Emperor of the Moon'' is a

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

farce written by Aphra Behn in 1687, based on Italian commedia dell'arte. It was Behn's second most successful play (after '' The Rover''), probably due to the lightness of the plot and its accompanying musical and spectacular entertainment. The music is largely lost today. The play was not fitted out like a big opera, because producers were unwilling to finance a costly opera following the failure of

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 ...

's ''

Albion and Albanius ''Albion and Albanius'' is an opera, closely resembling a French ''tragédie en musique'', by Louis Grabu with an English libretto by John Dryden. The words were written by Dryden in 1680. It was initially intended as a prologue to his opera '' ...

''. The plan was to make audiences come back to the playhouse and attend an affordable mini-spectacle like ''The Emperor of the Moon''. It was first staged at the

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 Du ...

by the

United Company The United Company was a London theatre company formed in 1682 with the merger of the King's Company and the Duke's Company. Both the Duke's and King's Companies suffered poor attendance during the turmoil of the Popish Plot period, 1678&ndas ...

. The original cast included Cave Underhill as Dr Baliardo, Anthony Leigh as Scaramouch,

Thomas Jevon Thomas Jevon (1652–1688) was an English playwright, and one of the first English Harlequins. He began his career as a dancing master, but worked his way onto the stage, and played leading low-comedy parts in London between 1673 and 1688. His br ...

as Harlequin,

Sarah Cooke Sarah Cooke (died 1688) was an English stage actress of the seventeenth century. She was a member of the King's Company, based at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. She played a number of lead roles during the 1680s. Her aunt was the governess to th ...

as Elvira and

Katherine Corey Katherine Corey (fl. 1660 – 1692) was an English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage in Britain. Corey played with the King's Company and the United Company, and had one ...

as Mopsophil.Van Lennep, W. ''The London Stage, 1660-1800: Volume One, 1660-1700''. Southern Illinois University Press, 1960. p.356

Plot

Dr. Baliardo believes that the moon is inhabited, and that he will be able to spy on its king through his telescope. His obsession leads him to neglect his daughter Elaria and his niece Bellemante. Don Cinthio and Don Charmante form a plan to marry Elaria and Bellemante, as well as to cure Baliardo's obsession. They masquerade as the Emperor of the Moon and his brother, the Prince of Thunderland. The gullible Baliardo receives these otherworldly suitors, and so the stage is set for the grand finale: a

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

-like pageant that the schemers perform in an abandoned building. There, Baliardo is greeted by (allegedly) the Emperor of the Moon's court and the entire zodiac.

Reception

''The Emperor of the Moon'' has often been seen as one of Behn's more lightweight offerings. However, Al Coppola suggests that Behn in fact lampoons the enthusiastic but credulous Baliardo 'only to direct the audience's own untrustworthy gaze toward the threat posed by enthusiasm to domestic and civil harmony; toward the debased condition of the

theatre 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 ...

; and, above all, toward the irrational credulity stoked by Whig politics during the Exclusion Crisis, which the Court faction had inadvisably embraced during

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

's reign'.

References

National Library of Australia

External links

* Plays by Aphra Behn Restoration comedy 1687 plays Plays set in the 17th century West End plays {{17thC-play-stub