E. Polwhele (or Polewheele; later Lobb?; c. 1651 – c. 1691) was a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

that became one of the first women to write for the professional stage in Restoration

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Life and work

Little is known of Polwhele's life, though she has been tentatively identified as the daughter of nonconformist minister Theophilus Polwhele. That Elizabeth Polwhele was born in or around 1651, married another minister, Stephen Lobb, had five children, died in 1691, and is "probably" the playwrightBrown et al. although the identification is "somewhat startling." There are records of Polwhele's having written three plays: ''Elysium'', "possibly a religious masque," now lost; ''The Faythfull Virgins'', a tragedy in rhyme; and ''The Frolicks'', a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

. These latter plays exist only in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

. There is also "probably a eulogistic poem." ''The Faythfull Virgins'' was likely performed at

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a ...

about 1670. ''The Frolicks'' was possibly performed by 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 ...

in 1671 at the new

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 ...

; it features Clarabell, a witty Restoration heroine, and Rightwit, a

rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

. It was dedicated to Prince Rupert and signed "E. Polewheele". In the dedication she mentions performance of both her earlier plays, and continues, "I am young, no scholar, and what I write I write by nature, not by art." Along with

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; baptism, bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration (England), Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writ ...

and Frances Boothby, Polewheele was one of the first women to write for the professional stage in the early Restoration period.

''The Frolicks, or The Lawyer Cheated''

Written in or about 1671, the play existed solely in manuscript form until it was edited and published in a scholarly edition by

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...

in 1977.

Manuscript

Elizabeth Polwhele The frolicks letter page 1 RMC2018 0434.jpg, E. Polwhele. ''The frolicks'': dedicatory letter from Polwhele to Prince Rupert, page 1. 1671. Elizabeth Polwhele The frolicks letter page 2 RMC2018 0435.jpg, E. Polwhele. ''The frolicks'': dedicatory letter from Polwhele to Prince Rupert, page 2. 1671. Elizabeth Polwhele The frolicks letter page 4 RMC2018 0437.jpg, E. Polwhele. ''The frolicks'': dedicatory letter from Polwhele to Prince Rupert, page 4. 1671. Elizabeth Polwhele The frolicks playscript page 2 RMC2018 0438.jpg, E. Polwhele. ''The frolicks'': playscript, page 2. 1671.

First production

On October 11–12, 2021, second year students of the Shakespeare and Performance program at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia premiered the first confirmed full length production of ''The Frolicks.'' The show was produced by the program and directed by Sara Hymes and Gregory Jon Phelps, two members of the Hedgepig Ensemble located in Brooklyn, New York. Hedgepig worked closely with the production's publicity team as the play was selected for Hedgepig's 2021 "Expand the Canon" list.

Cast

*Andrew Steven Knight as Rightwit *Rosemary Richards as Clarabell *Kelsey Linberg as Leonora/Philario *Cole Metz as Mr. Zany *Chase D. Fowler as Sir Gregory *Kara Hankard as Plainman/Mistress *Gil Mitchel as Speak *Beth Somerville as Swallow *Kelsey Harrison as Mark *Madison Mayberry as Sir Makelove *George Durfee as Lord Courtall *Kailey Potter as Lady Meanwell *Cameron Taylor as Sir Meanwell *Sam Corey as Ralph *Madison Rudolph as Procreate/Drawer *Ariel Tatum as Faith/Turnkey/Constable

Plays

*''Elysium'' (lost) *''The Faythfull Virgins'' (ca. 1670; manuscript) *''The Frolicks; or, The Lawyer Cheated'' (1671)

References

Notes

Sources

*Brown, Susan, et al. "Elizabeth Polwhele." ''Orlando: Women’s Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present''. Ed. Susan Brown, Patricia Clements, and Isobel Grundy. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge UP, n.d. 22 Mar. 2013. Accessed 21 Sept. 2022. * *Polewhele, Elizabeth. ''The Frolicks; or, The Lawyer Cheated''. 1671. Eds. Judith Milhous and Robert D. Hume. Ithaca, .Y. Cornell University Press, 1977.
Open access
Internet Archive) *Todd, Janet. "Elizabeth Polwhele." ''A Dictionary of British and American women writers, 1660-1800.'' Totowa, N.J.: Rowman & Allanheld, 1985, p. 259.
Open access
Internet Archive) *Wynne-Davies, Marion.
Polwhele, Elizabeth (?1651-1691) English Restoration dramatist
" ''Dictionary of English Literature'', Bloomsbury, 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:Polewheele, Elizabeth 1650s births 1690s deaths English dramatists and playwrights British women dramatists and playwrights 17th-century English women writers 17th-century English writers