She Stoops to Conquer

Theatrical performance in 18th-century England was a rapidly-growing industry. During the Interregnum period of 1649-1660, theatres were closed by the Puritan Protectorate government. After the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660, theatres reopened and drama began to flourish again.

In the early 1700s, London’s population rapidly expanded and this new urban population was eager for entertainment. While there were previously only two theatres devoted to drama, many more theatres were built during this period. The Covent Garden theatre, where She Stoops to Conquer originally premiered, was built in 1732 and expanded so that it could seat 3,000 audience members by the end of the century. These new theatres were large enough to accommodate more impressive sets and visual effects, leading to innovations such as the invention of sliding painted flats for backdrops and the stage curtain. While audiences often talked and engaged with the performance, the theatres of the 18th century created more barriers between the actors and the audience. For example, theatre managers began having the stage be the only part of the building to remain lit during dramas and they ended the earlier practice of audience members sitting on the stage.

Theatre was a popular activity for all social classes during the 18th century, enjoyed by the lower classes and the aristocracy, often in the same spaces. People often dressed up for performances, as they were major social events, leading to the spread of new fashion trends. Similarly, actors and actresses began to take on a more important role in popular culture. Performers like David Garrick became well-known public figures as well as successful actors, contributing to the increasingly respectable reputation of drama. While acting had previously been a profession associated with the lower classes or even with sex work, actors such as Garrick became wealthy managers of theatres and members of elite society.

Many of the plays written in the 18th century were so-called “sentimental dramas,“ featuring morally pure and virtuous protagonists who were meant to teach the audience ethical lessons. However, Goldsmith and other dramatists such as Richard Brinsley Sheridan (School for Scandal, The Rivals) popularized the “comedy of manners” genre, which included witty repartee, satire of public morality, and a more ridiculously comedic plot than those of the sentimental dramas. This style of comedy, sometimes called “laughing comedy,” portrayed lowly and immoral characters in order to mock them, teaching proper behavior through bad examples rather than good ones.