fbpx
Wikipedia

Thomas Betterton

February 22, 2024

Thomas Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.

Thomas Betterton painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller

Apprentice and actor edit

Betterton was born in August 1635 in Tothill Street, Westminster.[1] He was apprenticed to John Holden, Sir William Davenant's publisher, and possibly later to a bookseller named John Rhodes, who had been wardrobe-keeper at the Blackfriars Theatre. In 1659, Rhodes obtained a license to set up a company of players at the Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane; and on the reopening of this theatre in 1660, Betterton made his first appearance on the stage.[2]

Betterton's talents at once brought him into prominence, and he was given leading parts. On the opening of the new theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1661, Davenant, the patentee of the Duke's Company, engaged Betterton and all Rhodes's company to play in his The Siege of Rhodes. Also in 1661 he played Prince Alvaro in Davenant's Love and Honour. Betterton, besides being a public favourite, was held in high esteem by Charles II, who sent him to Paris to examine stage improvements there.[2] According to Cibber, after his return to England, it was the first time that the shifting scenes replaced tapestry in an English theatre.[3]

In 1662 he married the actress Mary Saunderson (died 1712). She started her professional career playing some major female roles in Shakespeare's plays. She and her husband Thomas Betterton shared the stage in a production of Hamlet, in which she played Ophelia, opposite to Betterton's Hamlet.[3]They also played Bosola and The Duchess in Webster's 'The Duchess of Malfi' in the early 1660s. In the meantime, she was also her husband's consultant and business partner. In an age when the profession of acting was often thought as notorious and indecent, and actors, both male and female were unfairly criticized as whores, the Bettertons were still regarded as respectable. They were invited to teach the children from noble and royal families to perform John Crowne's Calisto, 1675, in the last Stuart court Masque.[4]

In appearance he was athletic, slightly above middle height, with a tendency to stoutness; his voice was strong rather than melodious, but in recitation it was used with the greatest dexterity. Pepys, Pope, Steele, and Cibber all bestow lavish praise on his acting. His repertory included a large number of Shakespearian roles, many of them presented in the versions adapted by Davenant, Dryden, Shadwell and Nahum Tate. Even though those adapted versions did not receive critical acclaim, they did not harm or shadow Betterton's acting either. Still, his performances were largely praised.[3] He played Lear opposite Elizabeth Barry's Cordelia in Tate's modified version of Shakespeare's King Lear. Betterton was himself author of several adaptations which were popular in their day.[2]

Actor and manager edit

From Davenant's death in 1668, Betterton was the de facto manager and director of the Duke's Company, and from the merger of London's two theatre companies in 1682, he continued to fulfill these functions in the new United Company. Enduring progressively worse conditions and terms in this money-grubbing monopoly (see Restoration spectacular and Restoration comedy), the top actors walked out in 1695 and set up a cooperative company in Lincoln's Inn Fields under Betterton's leadership. The new company opened with the premiere of Congreve's Love for Love with an all-star cast including Betterton as Valentine and Anne Bracegirdle as Angelica. But in a few years the profits fell off; and Betterton, laboring under the infirmities of age and gout, determined to quit the stage. At his benefit performance, when the profits are said to have been over £500, he played Valentine in Love for Love.[2]

Betterton's career not only spans the period of Restoration theatre, it also marks its high point.[5] There was a period of time when the size of theatre audience started to reduce, in order to revive people's interest in theatre, he invented new stage machines at Dorset Garden Theatre, transposed The Prophetess into an opera, and introduced French singers and dancers to the Restoration stage.[5] He also built the first permanent theatre fully equipped with Italianate machinery. Additionally, he invested in remodeling the tennis court in the Lincoln's Inn Fields and built a new theatre there, therefore in addition to his salary, he also received a small amount of "rent" fees for each performance done there.[4] Betterton worked with all of the most significant playwrights of his age and the first generation of English actresses.[6] During his time, with the exception of William Mountfort, who gained a versatility in terms of portraying roles, most of Betterton's contemporary actors deliberately restricted themselves to certain popular character-types. However Betterton had more than 120 different roles from the genres such as heroic drama, Jonsonian comedy, comedies of manners, tragicomedies by Beaumont and Fletcher, and tragedies, comedies and histories by Shakespeare.[5] At the age of seventy-five, he claimed, "He was yet learning to be an actor."[4] The first acting guide published in English was The Life of Mr Thomas Betterton, which was mainly a pastiche from French rhetoric manuals with passages borrowed from English plays.[4]

Betterson's innovation in scenery and theatre management, and his contributions to theatre making shaped the culture of English theatre.[6]

Betterton performed to within fifteen days of his death.[5] Three days before his death at seventy-five,[5] he made his last appearance on the stage in 1710, as Melantius in The Maid's Tragedy. He died shortly afterwards, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.[2] From his debut as an actor in 1659 to his last appearance in 1710, his fifty-year career stretched nearly to the end of Stuart Dynasty. Thomas Betterton's death marks the end of a generation.[4]

In popular culture edit

Betterton is portrayed by Tom Wilkinson in the 2004 film Stage Beauty. Wilkinson was in his mid 50s at the time, yet the film is set around 1662, when Betterton would have been younger than 30.

Selected roles edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.III, London, Charles Knight, 1847, p.273
  2. ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911.
  3. ^ a b c "Thomas Betterton (c. 1635-1710)". www.theatrehistory.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e Milhous, Judith (2011). "Thomas Betterton, The Greatest Actor of the Restoration Stage". Theatre Survey. doi:10.1017/S0040557411000536. S2CID 164129934.
  5. ^ a b c d e Armstrong, William A. (20 June 1954). "The Acting of Thomas Betterton". English. 10 (56): 55–57. doi:10.1093/english/10.56.55. ISSN 0013-8215.
  6. ^ a b "Thomas Betterton". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 22 April 2016.

References edit

External links edit

  •   Media related to Thomas Betterton at Wikimedia Commons

February 22, 2024
thomas, betterton, august, 1635, april, 1710, leading, male, actor, theatre, manager, during, restoration, england, under, cook, king, charles, born, london, painted, godfrey, kneller, contents, apprentice, actor, actor, manager, popular, culture, selected, ro. Thomas Betterton August 1635 28 April 1710 the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England son of an under cook to King Charles I was born in London Thomas Betterton painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller Contents 1 Apprentice and actor 2 Actor and manager 3 In popular culture 4 Selected roles 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksApprentice and actor editBetterton was born in August 1635 in Tothill Street Westminster 1 He was apprenticed to John Holden Sir William Davenant s publisher and possibly later to a bookseller named John Rhodes who had been wardrobe keeper at the Blackfriars Theatre In 1659 Rhodes obtained a license to set up a company of players at the Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane and on the reopening of this theatre in 1660 Betterton made his first appearance on the stage 2 Betterton s talents at once brought him into prominence and he was given leading parts On the opening of the new theatre in Lincoln s Inn Fields in 1661 Davenant the patentee of the Duke s Company engaged Betterton and all Rhodes s company to play in his The Siege of Rhodes Also in 1661 he played Prince Alvaro in Davenant s Love and Honour Betterton besides being a public favourite was held in high esteem by Charles II who sent him to Paris to examine stage improvements there 2 According to Cibber after his return to England it was the first time that the shifting scenes replaced tapestry in an English theatre 3 In 1662 he married the actress Mary Saunderson died 1712 She started her professional career playing some major female roles in Shakespeare s plays She and her husband Thomas Betterton shared the stage in a production of Hamlet in which she played Ophelia opposite to Betterton s Hamlet 3 They also played Bosola and The Duchess in Webster s The Duchess of Malfi in the early 1660s In the meantime she was also her husband s consultant and business partner In an age when the profession of acting was often thought as notorious and indecent and actors both male and female were unfairly criticized as whores the Bettertons were still regarded as respectable They were invited to teach the children from noble and royal families to perform John Crowne s Calisto 1675 in the last Stuart court Masque 4 In appearance he was athletic slightly above middle height with a tendency to stoutness his voice was strong rather than melodious but in recitation it was used with the greatest dexterity Pepys Pope Steele and Cibber all bestow lavish praise on his acting His repertory included a large number of Shakespearian roles many of them presented in the versions adapted by Davenant Dryden Shadwell and Nahum Tate Even though those adapted versions did not receive critical acclaim they did not harm or shadow Betterton s acting either Still his performances were largely praised 3 He played Lear opposite Elizabeth Barry s Cordelia in Tate s modified version of Shakespeare s King Lear Betterton was himself author of several adaptations which were popular in their day 2 Actor and manager editFrom Davenant s death in 1668 Betterton was the de facto manager and director of the Duke s Company and from the merger of London s two theatre companies in 1682 he continued to fulfill these functions in the new United Company Enduring progressively worse conditions and terms in this money grubbing monopoly see Restoration spectacular and Restoration comedy the top actors walked out in 1695 and set up a cooperative company in Lincoln s Inn Fields under Betterton s leadership The new company opened with the premiere of Congreve s Love for Love with an all star cast including Betterton as Valentine and Anne Bracegirdle as Angelica But in a few years the profits fell off and Betterton laboring under the infirmities of age and gout determined to quit the stage At his benefit performance when the profits are said to have been over 500 he played Valentine in Love for Love 2 Betterton s career not only spans the period of Restoration theatre it also marks its high point 5 There was a period of time when the size of theatre audience started to reduce in order to revive people s interest in theatre he invented new stage machines at Dorset Garden Theatre transposed The Prophetess into an opera and introduced French singers and dancers to the Restoration stage 5 He also built the first permanent theatre fully equipped with Italianate machinery Additionally he invested in remodeling the tennis court in the Lincoln s Inn Fields and built a new theatre there therefore in addition to his salary he also received a small amount of rent fees for each performance done there 4 Betterton worked with all of the most significant playwrights of his age and the first generation of English actresses 6 During his time with the exception of William Mountfort who gained a versatility in terms of portraying roles most of Betterton s contemporary actors deliberately restricted themselves to certain popular character types However Betterton had more than 120 different roles from the genres such as heroic drama Jonsonian comedy comedies of manners tragicomedies by Beaumont and Fletcher and tragedies comedies and histories by Shakespeare 5 At the age of seventy five he claimed He was yet learning to be an actor 4 The first acting guide published in English was The Life of Mr Thomas Betterton which was mainly a pastiche from French rhetoric manuals with passages borrowed from English plays 4 Betterson s innovation in scenery and theatre management and his contributions to theatre making shaped the culture of English theatre 6 Betterton performed to within fifteen days of his death 5 Three days before his death at seventy five 5 he made his last appearance on the stage in 1710 as Melantius in The Maid s Tragedy He died shortly afterwards and was buried in Westminster Abbey 2 From his debut as an actor in 1659 to his last appearance in 1710 his fifty year career stretched nearly to the end of Stuart Dynasty Thomas Betterton s death marks the end of a generation 4 In popular culture editBetterton is portrayed by Tom Wilkinson in the 2004 film Stage Beauty Wilkinson was in his mid 50s at the time yet the film is set around 1662 when Betterton would have been younger than 30 Selected roles editPrince Alvaro in Love and Honour 1661 Hamlet 1661 Welford in Squire Oldsapp 1678 King Lear in Nahum Tate s King Lear 1681 Jaffeir in Venice Preserv d 1682 Valentine in Love for Love 1695 Tamerlane by Nicholas Rowe 1701 Melantius in The Maid s Tragedy 1710 Notes editThis article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge Vol III London Charles Knight 1847 p 273 a b c d e Chisholm 1911 a b c Thomas Betterton c 1635 1710 www theatrehistory com Retrieved 22 April 2016 a b c d e Milhous Judith 2011 Thomas Betterton The Greatest Actor of the Restoration Stage Theatre Survey doi 10 1017 S0040557411000536 S2CID 164129934 a b c d e Armstrong William A 20 June 1954 The Acting of Thomas Betterton English 10 56 55 57 doi 10 1093 english 10 56 55 ISSN 0013 8215 a b Thomas Betterton Cambridge University Press Retrieved 22 April 2016 References edit nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Betterton Thomas Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 03 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 832 Knight John Joseph 1885 Betterton Thomas In Stephen Leslie ed Dictionary of National Biography Vol 4 London Smith Elder amp Co Robert William Lowe Thomas Betterton 1891 External links edit nbsp Media related to Thomas Betterton at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Betterton amp oldid 1200963546, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.