John Banks (1650–1706) was an English playwright of the Restoration era. His works concentrated on historical dramas, and his plays were twice suppressed because of their implications, or supposed implications, for the contemporaneous political situation. Virtually nothing is known about Banks's early life; his date of birth has been estimated on the basis of his later biography. He studied law at the New Inn, one of the minor

Inns of Chancery The Inns of Chancery or ''Hospida Cancellarie'' were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name. Existing from a ...

attached to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. Banks's first play was ''The Rival Kings'' of

1677 Events January–March * January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy '' Phèdre'' is first performed, in Paris. * January 21 – The first medical publication in America (a pamphlet on smallpox) is produced in Boston. * February 15 ...

, written in imitation of

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth; Dr Lee was chaplain to George Monck, afterw ...

's ''The Rival Queens'' of the same year. Banks followed this with '' The Destruction of Troy'', which was staged 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 ...

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 ...

in November 1678 and printed the following year. '' The Unhappy Favourite, or the Earl of Essex'' (

1682 Events January–March * January 7 – The Republic of Genoa forbids the unauthorized printing of newspapers and all handwritten newssheets; the ban is lifted after three months. * January 12 – Scottish minister James Ren ...

), for which

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

provided a prologue and epilogue, was his first major success. ''Virtue Betrayed, or Anna Bullen'', published the same year, proved to be his most popular play, and was acted as late as

1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new House of Stuart, Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * Januar ...

. Banks was considered a crude writer who could nonetheless, at his best, create powerful drama. His next play, however, was judged more crude than powerful: ''The Innocent Usurper'', based on the life of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

, was disliked by both 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. He tried to stage ''The Innocent Usurper'' again in

1693 Events January–March * January 11 – The Mount Etna volcano erupts in Italy, causing a devastating earthquake that kills 60,000 people in Sicily and Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Sout ...

, but on this second attempt the play was banned for political reasons. It was eventually published in 1694. ''The Island Queens, or the Death of Mary Queen of Scotland'' (

1684 Events January–March * January 5 ** King Charles II of England gives the title Duke of St Albans to Charles Beauclerk, his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn. ** The earliest form of what is now the University of Tokyo (formally chartere ...

), had a similar history: originally banned on political grounds, it was published in

1686 Events January–March * January 3 – In Madras (now Chennai) in India, local residents employed by the East India Company threaten to boycott their jobs after corporate administrator William Gyfford imposes a house tax on resid ...

, and eventually successfully staged as ''The Albion Queens'', twenty years after its creation. His last drama was ''

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...

'', inspired by ''Le Grand Cyrus'' of

Madeleine de Scudéry Madeleine de Scudéry (; 15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry (), was a French writer. Her works demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received ins ...

. The acting companies resisted this work because of its perceived low quality, but it proved to be another success once staged, by the King's Company 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 ...

References

External links

1650s births 1706 deaths Year of birth uncertain English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights {{UK-playwright-stub