Gallathea
Encyclopedia
Gallathea is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy
by John Lyly
. It is unusual among Lyly's plays in that it has a record of modern productions.
on April 1, 1585. Some scholars have speculated that this play, otherwise unknown, may have been an early version of Lyly's work — though the point is open to doubt, since what clearly was Lyly's play was entered into the Register on October 4, 1591
, along with his Endymion
and Midas
. Gallathea was acted at the royal palace at Greenwich
before Queen Elizabeth I
by the Children of Paul's
, most likely on January 1, 1588
(new style
). Gallathea was first printed in 1592
, in a quarto
printed by John Charlwood for Joan Broome (the widow of bookseller William Broome, who had published reprints of Lyly's Campaspe
and Sapho and Phao
in 1591). Gallathea was next printed in Six Court Comedies (1632
), the first collected edition of Lyly's works.
somewhere in Lincolnshire
is forced by Neptune
to sacrifice
their most beautiful virgin to him every five years, or he will drown them all. The chosen virgin must be tied to a certain tree to await her fate at the hands of the Agar, a terrible monster. The fathers of the two most beautiful virgins of the village, Gallathea and Phillida, decide to disguise their daughters as boys until after the sacrifice. Both girls are then sent off into the woods. Meanwhile, in an almost completely unrelated subplot
, three brothers, Rafe, Robin, and Dick, set off to seek their fortune. At the same time, the god Cupid
is wandering through the forest when he happens upon a nymph of Diana
. After a rebuff of his amorous advances, he resolves to trick all of the nymphs into falling in love, despite their vows of chastity. Predictably, all three of the nymphs who appear fall in love with either Gallathea or Phillida, whom Diana has forced to assist in her hunt. The rest of the plot revolves around the relationship between Gallathea and Phillida, who, each believing the other to be a boy, fall in love with each other. Cupid's punishment, substitute sacrifices of inferior virgins, brotherly reunions, divine reconciliations, a surprise ending, and the triumph of true love ensue.
. The show featured a bare set, audience participation, and video projection.
A production directed by Brett Sullivan Santry, was performed by the students of Stuart Hall School
of Staunton, Virginia. When he directed the play, he was an MLitt/MFA
graduate student in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance at Mary Baldwin College
. It ran from the second to the fifth of February, 2007. http://www.stuart-hall.org/content/view/158/149/ The production also appeared among the calendar of featured events, during the week-long celebration of Shakespeare's birthday, at the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse
on April 17, 2007. http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=172
A staged reading of Gallathea was presented in May 2007 by Primavera Productions
at the King's Head Theatre in London. The reading feature Mary Nighy
as Phillida and was directed by Tom Littler.
An all-female production of Gallathea was performed by the Uncut Pages Theater Company from the 26th to 29 July 2007 as part of Washington D.C.'s Capitol Fringe Festival.
Quest Theater Ensemble, Astoria, Queens (2002). Adapted and directed by Tim Browning. Music composed by jazz guitarist Spiros Exaras.
Modern commentators have praised the play's "harmonious variety" and "allegorical dramaturgy."
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
by John Lyly
John Lyly
John Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues,The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism.-Biography:John Lyly was born in Kent, England, in 1553/1554...
. It is unusual among Lyly's plays in that it has a record of modern productions.
Early history
A play titled Titirus and Galathea was entered into the Stationers' RegisterStationers' Register
The Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and publishers in England...
on April 1, 1585. Some scholars have speculated that this play, otherwise unknown, may have been an early version of Lyly's work — though the point is open to doubt, since what clearly was Lyly's play was entered into the Register on October 4, 1591
1591 in literature
-Events:*In the spring of the year, a dispute with James Burbage impels the Admiral's Men to leave The Theatre and move to Philip Henslowe's Rose Theatre.*Summer - Sir Walter Raleigh secretly marries Elizabeth Throckmorton....
, along with his Endymion
Endymion (play)
Endymion, the Man in the Moon is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy by John Lyly. The play provides a vivid example of the cult of flattery in the royal court of Queen Elizabeth I, and has been called "without doubt, the boldest in conception and the most beautiful in execution of all Lyly's...
and Midas
Midas (play)
Midas is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by John Lyly. It is arguably the most overtly and extensively allegorical of Lyly's allegorical plays.-Performance and Production:...
. Gallathea was acted at the royal palace at Greenwich
Palace of Placentia
The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London...
before Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
by the Children of Paul's
Children of Paul's
The Children of Paul's was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. Along with the Children of the Chapel, the Children of Paul's were the most important of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of English Renaissance theatre.St...
, most likely on January 1, 1588
1588 in literature
-Events:*January 1 - The Children of Paul's perform at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England, probably acting Lyly's Gallathea.*February 2 - The Children of Paul's return to the English court, probably with Lyly's Endymion....
(new style
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
). Gallathea was first printed in 1592
1592 in literature
-Events:*Ulysses Redux, a Latin play by William Gager, is staged by the students of Christ Church, Oxford on February 5. Two days later, on February 7, the students revive Gager's 1583 Latin play Rivales...
, in a quarto
Book size
The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
printed by John Charlwood for Joan Broome (the widow of bookseller William Broome, who had published reprints of Lyly's Campaspe
Campaspe (play)
Campaspe is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy by John Lyly. Widely considered Lyly's earliest drama, Campaspe was an influence and a precedent for much that followed in English Renaissance drama.-Performance and publication:...
and Sapho and Phao
Sapho and Phao
Sapho and Phao is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy written by John Lyly. One of Lyly's earliest dramas, it was likely the first that the playwright devoted to the allegorical idealization of Queen Elizabeth I that became the predominating feature of Lyly's dramatic canon.-Performance and...
in 1591). Gallathea was next printed in Six Court Comedies (1632
1632 in literature
The year 1632 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On February 14, Tempe Restored, a masque written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
), the first collected edition of Lyly's works.
Plot synopsis
A small villageVillage
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
somewhere in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
is forced by Neptune
Neptune (mythology)
Neptune was the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology and religion. He is analogous with, but not identical to, the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, each of them presiding over one of the three realms of the universe,...
to sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
their most beautiful virgin to him every five years, or he will drown them all. The chosen virgin must be tied to a certain tree to await her fate at the hands of the Agar, a terrible monster. The fathers of the two most beautiful virgins of the village, Gallathea and Phillida, decide to disguise their daughters as boys until after the sacrifice. Both girls are then sent off into the woods. Meanwhile, in an almost completely unrelated subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
, three brothers, Rafe, Robin, and Dick, set off to seek their fortune. At the same time, the god Cupid
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...
is wandering through the forest when he happens upon a nymph of Diana
Diana (mythology)
In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...
. After a rebuff of his amorous advances, he resolves to trick all of the nymphs into falling in love, despite their vows of chastity. Predictably, all three of the nymphs who appear fall in love with either Gallathea or Phillida, whom Diana has forced to assist in her hunt. The rest of the plot revolves around the relationship between Gallathea and Phillida, who, each believing the other to be a boy, fall in love with each other. Cupid's punishment, substitute sacrifices of inferior virgins, brotherly reunions, divine reconciliations, a surprise ending, and the triumph of true love ensue.
Modern productions
An experimental performance was staged by Peter Lichtenfels in November 2010 at the University of California, DavisUniversity of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
. The show featured a bare set, audience participation, and video projection.
A production directed by Brett Sullivan Santry, was performed by the students of Stuart Hall School
Stuart Hall School
Stuart Hall School in Staunton, Virginia was founded by the Episcopal church as Virginia Female Institute in 1844. It was renamed in 1907 in honor of its most famous headmistress, Flora Cooke Stuart, the widow of Confederate cavalry leader Maj. Gen. J.E.B...
of Staunton, Virginia. When he directed the play, he was an MLitt/MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
graduate student in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance at Mary Baldwin College
Mary Baldwin College
Mary Baldwin College is a private, independent, and comprehensive four-year liberal arts women's college in Staunton, Virginia. It was ranked in 2008 by US News & World Report as a top-tier, master's level university in the South. Mary Baldwin offers pre-professional programs in law, medicine,...
. It ran from the second to the fifth of February, 2007. http://www.stuart-hall.org/content/view/158/149/ The production also appeared among the calendar of featured events, during the week-long celebration of Shakespeare's birthday, at the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse
Blackfriars Playhouse
The American Shakespeare Center is a regional theatre company located in Staunton, Virginia in the United States. The theatre company focuses on plays from the Shakespeare canon, and includes works contemporary to his time period or related in other ways, such as The Complete Works of William...
on April 17, 2007. http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=172
A staged reading of Gallathea was presented in May 2007 by Primavera Productions
Primavera Productions
Primavera is a professional theatre company founded in 2003 by Tom Littler, who is also the Artistic Director. It is based in London, UK.Primavera is particularly noted for its revivals of rarely performed plays, although this does not seem to be its exclusive focus. This has included the...
at the King's Head Theatre in London. The reading feature Mary Nighy
Mary Nighy
Mary Nighy is an English actress and film maker. She was named one of the UK Film Council's breakthrough Brits in 2005.-Work:Nighy is director of Foster Films...
as Phillida and was directed by Tom Littler.
An all-female production of Gallathea was performed by the Uncut Pages Theater Company from the 26th to 29 July 2007 as part of Washington D.C.'s Capitol Fringe Festival.
Quest Theater Ensemble, Astoria, Queens (2002). Adapted and directed by Tim Browning. Music composed by jazz guitarist Spiros Exaras.
Modern commentators have praised the play's "harmonious variety" and "allegorical dramaturgy."