The Black Prince (play)
Encyclopedia
The Black Prince is a Restoration
era stage play, a historical tragedy
written by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery
. It premiered on stage in 1667
and was first published in 1669
. The play relied on influences from contemporaneous French theatre, and contributed to the evolution of the sub-genre of heroic drama
; yet it also looked back to the Caroline era
to assimilate masque
-like dramatic effects.
As its title indicates, the play deals with the historical career of Edward, the Black Prince
and his defeat and capture of King John II of France
at the Battle of Poitiers
.
The premiere was staged by the King's Company
at the first Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
on 19 October 1667. The opening performance was attended by many members of the English royal court, including the King: "Charles II
and persons of the court gathered to honor the most distinguished playwright of the nobility." The production featured Edward Kynaston
as the title character, Michael Mohun
as King Edward III
, William Wintershall
as King John, Charles Hart
as Lord Delaware, Nicholas Burt
as Count Guesselin, and William Cartwright
as Lord Latimer; Nell Gwyn
as Alizia Pearce, Rebecca Marshall
as Plantagenet, and Katherine Corey
as Cleorin.
Samuel Pepys
attended the first and third performances of the play; he thought the drama itself was weak, but admired the staging.
The play was first printed in Two New Tragedies (1669
), along with Boyle's Tryphon, by Henry Herringman
. In the following year in appeared again in Four New Plays, a collection of Boyle's dramas, also from Herringman.
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
era stage play, a historical tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
written by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery
Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery
Roger Boyle redirects here. For others of this name, see Roger Boyle Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery was a British soldier, statesman and dramatist. He was the third surviving son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork and Richard's second wife, Catherine Fenton. He was created Baron of Broghill on...
. It premiered on stage in 1667
1667 in literature
-Events:* The Roman Catholic Church places the works of René Descartes on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.* Molière's play, Tartuffe, is banned.* Edmund Castell is imprisoned for debt....
and was first published in 1669
1669 in literature
The year 1669 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Samuel Pepys stops keeping his diary on May 31.* The final section of Parthenissa, the prose romance by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, is published...
. The play relied on influences from contemporaneous French theatre, and contributed to the evolution of the sub-genre of heroic drama
Heroic drama
Heroic drama is a type of play popular during the Restoration era in England, distinguished by both its verse structure and its subject matter. The sub-genre of heroic drama evolved through several works of the middle to later 1660s; John Dryden's The Indian Emperour and Roger Boyle's The Black...
; yet it also looked back to the Caroline era
Caroline era
The Caroline era refers to the era in English and Scottish history during the Stuart period that coincided with the reign of Charles I , Carolus being Latin for Charles...
to assimilate masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
-like dramatic effects.
As its title indicates, the play deals with the historical career of Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
and his defeat and capture of King John II of France
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...
at the Battle of Poitiers
Battle of Poitiers (1356)
The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt....
.
The premiere was staged by the King's Company
King's Company
The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682.-History:...
at the first Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
on 19 October 1667. The opening performance was attended by many members of the English royal court, including the King: "Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and persons of the court gathered to honor the most distinguished playwright of the nobility." The production featured Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players," young male actors who played women's roles.-Career:...
as the title character, Michael Mohun
Michael Mohun
Michael Mohun was a leading British actor both before and after the 1642—60 closing of the theatres.Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's theatrical establishment at the Cockpit Theatre, "eventually becoming a key member of Queen...
as King Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
, William Wintershall
William Wintershall
William Wintershall , also Wintersall or Wintersell, was a noted seventeenth-century English actor. His career spanned the difficult years of mid-century, when English theatres were closed from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.According to James Wright's Historia...
as King John, Charles Hart
Charles Hart (17th-century actor)
Charles Hart was a prominent British Restoration actor.A Charles Hart was christened on 11 December 1625, in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, in London. It is not absolutely certain that this was the actor, though the name was not common at the time...
as Lord Delaware, Nicholas Burt
Nicholas Burt
Nicholas Burt , or Birt or Burght among other variants, was a prominent English actor of the seventeenth century. In a long career, he was perhaps best known as the first actor to play the role of Othello in the Restoration era.A "Nicholas Bert" was christened on 27 May 1621, in Norwich; the record...
as Count Guesselin, and William Cartwright
William Cartwright (actor)
William Cartwright was an English actor of the seventeenth century, whose career spanned the Caroline era to the Restoration. He is sometimes known as William Cartwright, Junior or William Cartwright the younger to distinguish him from his father, another William Cartwright William Cartwright...
as Lord Latimer; Nell Gwyn
Nell Gwyn
Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England. Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of...
as Alizia Pearce, Rebecca Marshall
Rebecca Marshall
Rebecca Marshall was a noted English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers on the public stage in Britain...
as Plantagenet, and Katherine Corey
Katherine Corey
Katherine Corey was an English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage in Britain. Corey played with the King's Company and the United Company, and had one of the longest careers of any actress in her generation...
as Cleorin.
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
attended the first and third performances of the play; he thought the drama itself was weak, but admired the staging.
The play was first printed in Two New Tragedies (1669
1669 in literature
The year 1669 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Samuel Pepys stops keeping his diary on May 31.* The final section of Parthenissa, the prose romance by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, is published...
), along with Boyle's Tryphon, by Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publisher of the works of John Dryden...
. In the following year in appeared again in Four New Plays, a collection of Boyle's dramas, also from Herringman.