ENG 328 - Staging the Restoration

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR: Meets general academic requirement W.
Prerequisite(s): THR 100 Theatre & Society: An Historical Introduction or any 200 level ENG course or permission of instructor.
This course examines stagings of Restoration England. The first half of the course investigates Restoration Comedy in historical and theatrical context. Likely themes include the relationship between theatre and politics, the intersection of nationality and sexuality, and the shift from aristocratic to bourgeois cultural forms. The second half of the course examines recent theatrical and cinematic representations of the Restoration era. We will look at contemporary productions of Restoration plays, new plays set in the Restoration era, and feature films. The Restoration emerges as a period of sex, fashion, class struggle, and nascent imperialism. What is at stake in these representations for our own historical moment? Why stage the past to address the present? Satisfies departmental Drama/Transmedia requirement.