'The All-Excelling Actress Blushing Bow'd': A Practice-as-Research Exploration of the Performance of Gender in 'Restoration Theatre' by Mid-Eighteenth-Century Actresses

This thesis aims to update and correct the performance of gender in both modern actor-training and modern performance of 'Restoration theatre', by using Practice-as-Research as a methodology to investigate current theories and arguments regarding the performance of gender by mid-eighteenth-century actresses. Practice-as-Research has been used to critically embody traditional archival evidence concerning specific performances by mid-eighteenth-century actresses in order to see how they spoke to the perception of gender at the time. What was discovered was then compared with modern approaches towards performing 'Restoration theatre' to challenge or complement current prevailing narratives in drama schools and the professional stage regarding the performance of gender in 'Restoration theatre'.

The research here demonstrates that the performance of gender in plays from the period defined as 'Restoration theatre' did not fit into the binary categories of 'masculine' and 'feminine' as currently taught and performed. Additionally, it shows that though eighteenth-century society would not recognise the terms 'gender play' and 'feminism', the eighteenth-century stage did have performances and characters whose actions and beliefs would now be seen through the lens of these terms. Understanding this not only challenges existing approaches and skills for the performance and teaching of 'Restoration theatre' but introduces new approaches and skills for performers and actor-trainers alike.