This deep dive covers Key Playwrights & Works within Culture and Theatre for GCSE History. Revise Culture and Theatre in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 3 of 14 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🧠 Key Playwrights & Works
William Wycherley: The Country Wife (1675) — about cuckoldry and sexual intrigue. Scandalous and hugely popular.
George Etherege: The Man of Mode (1676) — portrait of a witty libertine. Based on courtiers.
Aphra Behn: First professional woman playwright. The Rover (1677). Wrote for money — remarkable achievement.
John Dryden: Poet Laureate. Wrote heroic dramas and comedies. Also literary critic.
Practice questions for Culture and Theatre
Why were theatres closed during the Interregnum (1642-1660)?
What was significant about who performed in Restoration theatres for the first time in English history?
Quick recall flashcards
Who was Aphra Behn?
First professional woman playwright and novelist in England. Wrote The Rover (1677) and Oroonoko — one of the first English novels (1688). Worked as a spy for Charles II in Antwerp during the Dutch Wars. Pioneer of women in professional writing.
Why had theatres been closed before 1660?
Puritans banned plays as immoral during the Interregnum (1642-1660) — they condemned theatrical performances as corrupting and irreligious. Charles II's Restoration immediately reversed this, issuing licences for two theatre companies in 1660.