Plays had antisocial tendencies. They provided an opportunity for social criticism. Audiences could be unruly. Plays could be violent and naughty. Some thought the theater was the devil’s work. It was not a place for women, at least in Shakespearean England. Boys or young men played female parts. The Restoration in 1660 brought back the monarchy. The new king allowed women on the stage. Juliet could now be played by a girl.
The Power of Entertainment
The play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.
- Hamlet
Artistic pursuits were always more than just about having fun. Cave paintings provide a window into the souls of our ancestors. They expressed our thoughts, passions, and fears.
The stage was also a powerful place. Greek playwrights were societal critics. Their plays were comments on their communities, sometimes using humor as a way to make fun of important people. Greek plays were an acceptable way to speak out when it was otherwise not a good idea.
Entertainment was somewhat dangerous. People became unruly during certain festivals, dressing up and breaking the normal rules of behavior. Actors entertained for a living.
Shakespeare
Shakespeare, whom many of you study in English class, wrote and performed his plays around 1600. His plays are chock-full of material that had something to say about his society.
There was one significant wrinkle. No girls or women were allowed on stage.
Yes. Hamlet (I’m sorry; “the Scottish play”) was performed with an all-male cast. Romeo and Juliet, the great tragic romance? That too. A strict custom was followed. No girls allowed.
Really? Why?!
Actors were unreliable. Bands of actors travelled from place to place in medieval times. They were not tied to a certain community with the social restraints that came with it.
Public performances were unruly. All types of people came together. Shakespearean plays are often violent. They are filled with naughty wordplay and jokes (even if some students miss the humor because of the old-fashioned language). It was not proper behavior for a woman.
Many people thought acting overall was sinful. Public theaters were unsavory places. They promoted pleasure, kept people from working, and led people astray from religious obligations. This was the era of the Puritans, who would soon establish colonies in the New World.
So, Women Did Not Take Part At All?
Women did take part behind the scenes. They made costumes, collected admission fees, and sold food. Some women owned theaters. Nonetheless, acting was considered too indecent.
Women sometimes were street performers (acrobats). They took part in non-speaking roles in private performances at elite venues. Men and women acted in “court masques,” which elaborately portrayed classical or mythical figures. These performances were deemed safe.
The men-only rule was never formally a law. Men and women acted publicly together in other places in Western Europe, including Italy. England, however, enforced a stricter custom.
Who Played Juliet?
Boys and young men in female dress and makeup performed female roles.
Male performers became quite skilled at female roles. A boy named “Romeo” might perform as Juliet. Multiple Shakespeare plays involved crossdressing characters. Women pretended to be men. Or, male actors pretended to be women pretending to be men. It was a bit confusing.
Some people found it improper for men to play female roles. It was still better than having women playing them alongside men. It was, let’s say, considered a “lesser evil.”
This reflects the changing nature of social norms. Men playing women’s roles are now seen as quirky “drag” performances. In Shakespeare’s time, it was an everyday practice.
King Charles II
Prince Charles was invited back to London in 1660 from his exile in France.
England fought a civil war in the 1640s. A remarkable event occurred. The prince’s father, King Charles I, was executed. The Puritans forced his son into exile.
The country was now ready to go back to normal with King Charles II, who was thirty years old. Puritan strictness was toned down and religious tolerance promoted.
Charles promoted the arts and sciences. He had multiple mistresses and illegitimate children.
Juliet Can Be Played By A Girl
I come, unknown to any of the rest
To tell you news; I saw the Lady drest;
The Woman playes to day, mistake me not,
No Man in Gown, or Page in Petty-Coat;
A Woman to my knowledge. — New Prologue to Othello
The Shakespearean play Othello (SPOILER ALERT!) concerns Othello fearing his wife Desdemona is unfaithful. On December 8, 1660, the audience had a surprise.
A woman acted the part of Desdemona. It was the first time many theatergoers saw a woman perform on stage. Women became regular parts of theater troupes.
Puritans closed down public theaters in 1642. Now, the theaters were not only reopened. King Charles II officially declared that women’s parts “may be performed by women.”
Charles saw women perform in plays while in France. The idea was not strange to him. Women’s performances could be “harmless delights” and “instructive in representing human life.”
Shakespeare Today
King Charles officially announced women could play women’s roles.
Women later also played male roles. Sarah Bernhardt, the great actress who performed at the turn of the 20th Century, played Hamlet. Today, women sometimes play Othello.
Shakespearean plays today generally have men and women play the roles written for each. Romeo is played by a man while Juliet is played by a woman.
Theater continues to provide the possibility of pushing against societal expectations, including when determining who plays each role.