ABSTRACT
A striking example of the continuity that exists between the theatrical culture of the early modern period and that of the Restoration and eighteenth century is the popularity of Shakespeare on the stage. Indeed, the landmark event of the theater of the 1660s, the first appearance by a woman on the public stage in England, was probably in one of his plays. On 8 December 1660, the part of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello was performed by a woman (probably Anne Marshall) in a production by Killigrew’s King’s Company at the Vere Street theater. Of course, Restoration versions of Shakespeare’s plays were drastically altered to conform to the tastes and sensibilities of the times. The most famous, or perhaps infamous, example of this is Nahum Tate’s 1680 revision of King Lear, which featured a resolutely happy ending, redolent with poetic justice but entirely at odds with Shakespeare’s text: Cordelia lives, is reunited with her father, and conveniently marries Edgar.
