On 2 September 1642, just after the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...
had begun, the
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...
ordered the closure of all London theatres. The order cited the current "times of humiliation" and "sad and pious solemnity", a zeitgeist incompatible with "public stage-plays", which were representative of "lascivious Mirth and Levity".
The closure was the culmination of the rising anti-theatrical sentiment among
Puritans
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
, and along with
William Prynne
William Prynne (1600 – 24 October 1669), an English lawyer, voluble author, polemicist and political figure, was a prominent Puritan opponent of church policy under William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633–1645). His views were Presbyter ...
's ''
Histriomastix'' (1633), its text was the most notorious attack on theatre in English history.
On 24 January 1643, the actors responded to the suppression of the theatre by writing a pamphlet to Parliament titled "The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall play-houses", in which they also state, "wee have purged our stages of all obscene and scurrilous jests".
It was unclear to contemporary audiences whether the intent of the Act was a permanent ban or a temporary response to political tensions. The directive did not demand a permanent end to theatre, but rather demanded their absence "while these sad causes and set times of humiliation do continue". Another Act of 11 February 1648, at the beginning of the
Second Civil War, was "a much more severe decree"; it provided for the treatment of actors as
rogues, the demolition of theatre seating, and fines for spectators.
In 1660, after the
English Restoration
The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...
brought King
Charles II to effective power in England, the theatrical ban was lifted. Under a new licensing system, two London theatres with royal patents were opened: 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 1642, London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 166 ...
and the
Duke's Company
The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During that period, theatres ...
. This interregnum substantially changed the practice of theatre in Britain; post-1660 plays bore a noticeably different character to their pre-1642 counterparts. For example, actresses were permitted on stage, which was considered scandalous in the previous era.
Details of orders:
* 2 September 1642: Order for Stage-plays to cease
* 22 October 1647: An Ordinance for the Lord Major and City of London, and the Justices of Peace to suppress Stage-playes and Interludes
* 11 February 1648: An Ordinance for the utter suppression and abolishing of all Stage-Plays and Interludes, within the Penalties to be inflicted on the Actors and Spectators therein expressed
See also
*
King's Men § Aftermath for the history of one company affected by the prohibition
*
William Robbins (actor) an actor who lost his living, and fought and died for the Royalist cause.
*
Antitheatricality 16th and 17th century
*
The Cambridge History of British Theatre from Roman colony origins through the twentieth century.
Notes
{{reflist
1642 in England
Theatre of the United Kingdom
17th century in London
Cultural history of England