George Etherege – författare

A sparkling collection of nine witty full-cast comedies from the early Restoration eraRaunchy, risqué and rebellious, early Restoration comedies were a breath of fresh air for 17th century theatregoers. With Charles II restored to the throne in 1660, Oliver Cromwell''s ban on stage performances was rescinded, and for the first time, women were invited to tread the boards as actresses. Playwrights developed a new style of social comedy, packed with amorous escapades, bawdy humour, wicked wit and sexual innuendo.This scintillating anthology showcases six leading lights of early Restoration drama, beginning with George Etherege, the creator of the ''comedy of manners'': The Man of Mode, an irreverent portrait of the fops and libertines that populated London''s beau monde; and She Wou''d If She Cou''d, a racy, fast-paced romp mocking society''s double standards for men and women. Among the casts are Derek Jacobi, Anna Massey, Ian Richardson, Prunella Scales and Hattie Jacques.Also poking fun at hypocrisy and immorality was William Wycherley. However, his comedies were considered far more daring - especially The Country Wife, which was judged too obscene to be staged in its original form for over 200 years. Centred around a notorious rake who resorts to deception to pursue a naïve married woman, this effervescent BBC radio dramatisation stars Jonathan Pryce and Maggie Smith.Male playwrights were not the only ones penning scandalous dramas during this period. Aphra Behn, Britain''s first professional female writer, was a poet, spy and the most prolific playwright of the 1670s and ''80s. Her sex comedy The Rover, featured here, revolves around love, lust, intrigue and mistaken identity, and stars Julia Ford, Suzan Sylvester and Juliet Aubrey.England''s first Poet Laureate, John Dryden, dominated Restoration literature to such an extent that it came to be known as the Age of Dryden. His 1677 play All For Love, a powerful reworking of Shakespeare''s Antony and Cleopatra, is regarded as his finest work. John Turner and Barbara Jefford star in this heroic tragedy.A rival of Dryden, Edward Ravenscroft was the first British playwright to introduce characters from the ''commedia dell'' arte'' into his farces. His seminal comedy The London Cuckolds, featuring three ridiculous husbands, three beautiful wives, and one dissolute young cad, was hugely popular, and this BBC adaptation retains all the original''s ribald wit. It stars Carleton Hobbs, Norman Shelley and Madi Hedd.Thomas Otway achieved his greatest success in the last five years of his life. Three of his acclaimed works appear here: his 1683 comedy The Soldier''s Fortune and its sequel The Atheist, focussing on disbanded army officers looking for sex and money, and his masterpiece Venice Preserved, a dark political thriller about power, revolution, love and betrayal. The ensemble casts feature Dennis Quilley, John Rowe, Michael Turner and Donald Wolfit.Content listThe Man of ModeFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 27 Jun 1986She Wou''d If She Cou''dFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 6 Sep 1968The Country WifeFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 22 Dec 1985The RoverFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 22 Jan 1995All For LoveFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 7 Jul 1983The London CuckoldsFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 30 Dec 1974The Soldier''s FortuneFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 24 May 1981The AtheistFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 31 May 1981Venice PreservedFirst broadcast BBC Third Programme, 10 Aug 1960© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

George Etherege was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, around 1636, the eldest of six children to George Etherege and Mary Powney. Little is known of much of his life and especially his early years. He was educated at Lord Williams''s School and the next sighting of him is as apprentice to a lawyer before he himself began to study law at Clement''s Inn, London, one of the Inns of Chancery. Thereafter conjecture attributes many things to him but none that can be confirmed as fact. However, after the Restoration to the throne of Charles II in 1660 he wrote his first comedy; The Comical Revenge, or, Love in a Tub, which also brought him to the attention of Lord Buckhurst, who later became the Earl of Dorset. The Comical Revenge was performed at the Duke''s theatre in 1664 although other accounts say it was premiered at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. It is written partly in rhymed heroic verse and contains several comic scenes that are refreshingly bright, especially in the context of other plays performed at the time. The verbal sparring between Sir Frederick and the Widow was a new departure for the stage and it worked brilliantly. An immediate success, it had followed much of the earlier traditions of theatre but had already begun to lay the foundations for what would become the comedy of manners. It gave him an immediate entrée to a world of literary rakes, including Sir Charles Sedley, John Wilmot, the earl of Rochester and many of the roguish elements of the Court circle. He seemed easy-going and amiable and his nicknames seem to confirm this; "gentle George" and "easy Etheredge." Whether this rich life of gaudy pleasures hindered his writing or not it would be another four years before his next play would be finished and performed. In 1668 She Would If She Could, a comedy full of action, wit and spirit, came to the stage. Although it was also seen by others to be frivolous and immoral. However, the play does cement Etheredge’s modern reputation as a powerful figure in English playwriting. The play dropped the romantic verse element to concentrate on flirtation for flirtations own sake. It was a radical departure. Unfortunately, it also flopped. It is said due to bad acting but the sudden movement away from the normal structure of a play may equally be the reason. Etheridge now departed on new adventures and between 1668 and 1671 Etherege resided in Constantinople as the secretary of the English ambassador, Sir Daniel Harvey. Returning once more to English shores he wrote the prologue for the opening, in 1671, of the new Dorset Garden Theatre. In 1676 his last and wittiest comedy, The Man of Mode; or, Sir Fopling Flutter, was brought to the stage. It was an immediate and over-whelming success. He was acclaimed. A writer being the sum of his own experiences it was widely believed that the play’s characters paint comic pictures of several of his well-known contemporaries. Sir Fopling Flutter himself being a portrait of Beau Hewit, the reigning exquisite of the hour, Dorimant a reference to John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, and Medley a portrait of Etherege himself or fellow playwright and wit Sir Charles Sedley. Even the drunkard shoemaker was a real character, who made his fortune from being brought to public attention. After this brilliant success Etheredge retired from literature, and a few years later had lost much of his new fortune to gambling. Etherege was knighted in either 1679 or 1680 and went on to marry the wealthy widow Mary Sheppard Arnold. In March, 1685 he was appointed resident minister in the imperial German court at Regensburg. After three and a half-year''s residence and the Glorious Revolution, he left for Paris to join James II in exile. He died in Paris, probably in late 1691, although the date and cause of death are uncertain.

George Etherege was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, around 1636, the eldest of six children to George Etherege and Mary Powney. Little is known of much of his life and especially his early years. He was educated at Lord Williams''s School and the next sighting of him is as apprentice to a lawyer before he himself began to study law at Clement''s Inn, London, one of the Inns of Chancery. Thereafter conjecture attributes many things to him but none that can be confirmed as fact. However, after the Restoration to the throne of Charles II in 1660 he wrote his first comedy; The Comical Revenge, or, Love in a Tub, which also brought him to the attention of Lord Buckhurst, who later became the Earl of Dorset. The Comical Revenge was performed at the Duke''s theatre in 1664 although other accounts say it was premiered at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. It is written partly in rhymed heroic verse and contains several comic scenes that are refreshingly bright, especially in the context of other plays performed at the time. The verbal sparring between Sir Frederick and the Widow was a new departure for the stage and it worked brilliantly. An immediate success, it had followed much of the earlier traditions of theatre but had already begun to lay the foundations for what would become the comedy of manners. It gave him an immediate entrée to a world of literary rakes, including Sir Charles Sedley, John Wilmot, the earl of Rochester and many of the roguish elements of the Court circle. He seemed easy-going and amiable and his nicknames seem to confirm this; "gentle George" and "easy Etheredge." Whether this rich life of gaudy pleasures hindered his writing or not it would be another four years before his next play would be finished and performed. In 1668 She Would If She Could, a comedy full of action, wit and spirit, came to the stage. Although it was also seen by others to be frivolous and immoral. However, the play does cement Etheredge’s modern reputation as a powerful figure in English playwriting. The play dropped the romantic verse element to concentrate on flirtation for flirtations own sake. It was a radical departure. Unfortunately, it also flopped. It is said due to bad acting but the sudden movement away from the normal structure of a play may equally be the reason. Etheridge now departed on new adventures and between 1668 and 1671 Etherege resided in Constantinople as the secretary of the English ambassador, Sir Daniel Harvey. Returning once more to English shores he wrote the prologue for the opening, in 1671, of the new Dorset Garden Theatre. In 1676 his last and wittiest comedy, The Man of Mode; or, Sir Fopling Flutter, was brought to the stage. It was an immediate and over-whelming success. He was acclaimed. A writer being the sum of his own experiences it was widely believed that the play’s characters paint comic pictures of several of his well-known contemporaries. Sir Fopling Flutter himself being a portrait of Beau Hewit, the reigning exquisite of the hour, Dorimant a reference to John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, and Medley a portrait of Etherege himself or fellow playwright and wit Sir Charles Sedley. Even the drunkard shoemaker was a real character, who made his fortune from being brought to public attention. After this brilliant success Etheredge retired from literature, and a few years later had lost much of his new fortune to gambling. Etherege was knighted in either 1679 or 1680 and went on to marry the wealthy widow Mary Sheppard Arnold. In March, 1685 he was appointed resident minister in the imperial German court at Regensburg. After three and a half-year''s residence and the Glorious Revolution, he left for Paris to join James II in exile. He died in Paris, probably in late 1691, although the date and cause of death are uncertain.