What is Eighteenth Century Drama: Censorship, Society and the Stage?

The main focus of Eighteenth Century Drama is the John Larpent plays, there are over 2,500 plays including within this collection and they have been digitised and made available here for study. Correspondence between key theatrical figures, biographical information, advertisements, portraits and companion texts provide context for the plays and emphasise the role of theatre in society not only as entertainment, but as an opportunity for social commentary.

Browse by a variety of themes and genres, follow a particular theatre manager, Lord Chamberlain or actor, or find documents relating to a specific theatre thanks to the detailed metadata attached to each document. Explore portraits, cartoons, objects and architectural drawings through the bespoke, searchable Image Gallery or use the interactive Chronology and Performance Data to supplement research and visualise the world of eighteenth century theatre in new ways.

The essential companion text The London Stage 1660-1800, which lists every traceable performance 1660-1800, has been made available as a searchable database and used to power our London Stage Data Associations feature and London Stage Data Visualisations.

The companion text A Biographical Dictionary of Actors etc. 1660-1800 has also been made available as a searchable database.

Learn more about these areas of the resource on the following Take a Tour pages. 

Home page for Eighteenth Century Drama.

Next: John Larpent Collection