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The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Duke became King, the theatre became the Queen's Theatre in 1685, referring to James' second wife, Mary of Modena. The name remained when William and Mary came to the throne in 1689. It was the fourth home of the Duke's Company, one of the two patent theatre companies in Restoration London, and after 1682 continued to be used by the company's successor, the United Company. It was demolished in 1709.〔''The London Stage'' (part 2), p.194, quoting ''The Daily Courant'' of 1 June 1709. By that time a new Queen’s Theatre had been built (1705) in the Haymarket.〕 ==Background== After years of being banned during the Interregnum, theatre performances were again permitted on the Restoration of Charles II with the grant of Letters Patent to two companies to perform "legitimate drama" in London. The Duke's Company was patronised by the Duke of York (later James II); the other patent theatre company, the King's Company enjoyed the patronage of his brother, Charles II. Both companies were briefly based, from 1660, in an old Jacobean theatre, the Cockpit Theatre (also known as the Phoenix Theatre) in Drury Lane. After a short period in the Salisbury Court Theatre, the Duke's Company moved in 1662 to Lincoln's Inn Fields, to a building on Portugal Street that was formerly Lisle's Tennis Court. The company remained there until 1671. Meanwhile, the King's Company moved to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane,〔then called Bridges Street theatre, as the entrance was in that street〕 where they stayed. The founder of the Duke’s Company (and Poet Laureate) Sir William Davenant, was a proponent of changeable scenery and theatrical machinery, which he is credited with introducing to the English public stage. He died before ground was broken on the new theatre in 1670, and so Dorset Garden was built under the auspices of the Davenant family who was running the Duke’s Company with aid of a leading actor of the company, Thomas Betterton. The shareholders agreed to raise the funds, which ultimately amounted to some £9,000. They leased a site in Dorset Garden for a period of 39 years (i.e. until 1709) at an annual rent of £130.55. Just before the opening of the Dorset Garden (probably in the summer of 1671) the leading actor of the Duke's Company, Thomas Betterton, took a trip to France. It is believed that the purpose of this trip was to see the latest in French scenic technology in order to import it to the English stage. This assumption is largely based on the fact that Betterton, serving as William Davenant's deputy, had gone to France for that purpose at the behest of Charles II in 1661 and would go again in 1683 on the king's behalf to bring back an opera and a troupe of dancers for the court's entertainment. After Betterton’s return to England in 1671 the Dorset Garden produced a number of increasingly elaborate spectacles, including operatic adaptations of Shakespeare’s ''Macbeth'' (1673) and ''The Tempest'' (1674), and Thomas Shadwell’s ''Pysche'' (1675). Characterizing these Restoration spectaculars was the use of changeable perspective scenery; theatrical machinery for moving scenery and flying actors and objects, instrumental and vocal music, dancing, and large casts.) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dorset Garden Theatre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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