Thomas+Betterton

**(1635-1710)** **actor, manager, author**
 * Thomas Betterton**

Thomas Betterton was the son of Matthew Betterton, who was the undercook for King Charles I, though he always dressed up like a gentleman of Westminster. Matthew Betterton (Thomas’ father) married twice and he had four sons and two daughters. The known names of Thomas’ siblings are William, Charles, Frances, and Mary. Thomas was baptized at St. Margaret, he was given a modest education which did not include extensive education which was available to the upper class. However, Thomas kept himself busy with his interest in reading and ended up as an apprentice to the bookseller John Holden who was the friend of Sir William Davenant. Furthermore, it is highly presumed that Edward Kynaston was Betterton’s under-apprentice. Edward Kynaston later became one of the most well-known actors in the Restoration period. It is safe to presume that Betterton ’s connection to theatre started with his apprenticeship.

**Some of the Various Roles** **Before Duke’s Company:** Deflores in //The Changeling,// Pericles, Archas in //The Loyal Subject//, Memnon in T//he Mad Lover// **During Duke’s Company:**

Solyman in the two parts of Davenant’s //The Siege of Rhodes//

//***//Hamlet in //Hamlet*** (his most famous role)//

Bosola in //The Duchess of Malfi//

Monsieur Brisac in //The Villain//

Sir Toby Belch in //Twelfth Night//

Don Henrique in //The Adventures of Five Hours//

Iberioin //The Slighted Maid//

Lord Beauford in //The Comical Revenge// Owen Tudor in Boyle’s //Henry V//

Macbeth (5 November 1664)

Solyman in //Mustapha//(3 April 1665)

Richard III in //The English Princess// (7 March 1667)

Dorimant in //The Man of Mode//

Philip 11 in Otway’s //Don Carlos//

Titus in his //Titus and Vespasian//

Antony in Sedley’s //Antony and Cleopatra//

Belville in //The Rover//

Orestes in Charles Davenant’s operatic //Circe//

Welford in //Squire Oldsapp'//

Castalio in //The Orphan//

Bevil in //Epsom Wells//

Grimalhaz in //The Empress of Morocco//

**Career: //The Greatest Actor of the Restoration Stage//** According to the prompter Downes, Thomas was later cited as being strong, full and articulate in his voice even though he was 22 years old, and he was highly applauded. It is evident from this comment that Betterton had a great start in his career as an actor.

Betterton was a member of King's company which was owned by Killigrew but with Davenant sharing profits. It is unknown how long he was a member of King's company, however, it is known that Betterton joined Duke’s company in 1660-61. Betterton was involved in theatrical finances of Duke’s company since the beginning as it is recorded that he purchased a share in 1660. These two companies ended up as rival companies later on in the road.

According to Downes, who was one of the critics of the times, he stated "(having seen //Mr. Taylor// of the //Black-Fryars// Company Act it, who being Instructed by the Author //Mr. Shakespeur)// taught Mr. //Betterton// in every Particle of it; which by his exact Performance of it, gain’d him Esteem and Reputation, Superlative to all other Plays.” . It is evident he was most famous for Hamlet at the time, although he played other roles.

He was a gentleman, but he was also an actor among many actors within Duke’s company. This companionship of theatre brought them together as they ended up beating Sir Henry Herbert, who was an aggressive Master of Revels and fought against Killigrew and Davenant throughout the duration of 1660-1661 to regain the control of English theatrics. In the end, Betterton and other actors were fined for their behavior, but this small event shows some of the dirty business that occurred in theatre at that time.

The actor was always busy performing for lead roles in most of the plays he performed in. He spent most of his career with the Duke’s company, which included stages such as the Lincoln’s Inn Fields. During his career as an actor, he rarely disappointed his critics. His performances were filled with a response of applause. There is one recorded distasteful comment left by critic Pepys on 4 September 1667 in //Mustapha// when "both Betterton and Harris could not contain from laughing in the midst of a most serious part, from the ridiculous mistake of one of the men upon the stage; which I did not like." Further on in his career, he started to earn money as an actor, a manager, and a company sharer, to which he added income from his investment in the theatre building (Lincoln’s Inn Fields). He also put up a financial share of Dorset Gardens when it was first being planned. Therefore, he was able to earn some profit from that investment.

**Betterton and Aphra Behn** Betterton’s interest did not subside with just acting and managing a stage. He also expressed interest in writing. Although his heavy schedule of acting, managing and many other things, he found time to write and be a counsellor to young playwrights such as the troubled and talented playwright Thomas Otway. He, later on, was a lead actor in one play written by Otway in September 1675. When it came to his own writing, he mostly focused on adapting plays rather than playwriting from scratch. His first effort was on Webster’s //Appius and Virginia// which was adapted to //The Roman Virgin//. This effort, however, seemed to be published ten years after being written. One of the fascinating parts of Betterton’s writing pursuits is his interaction with Aphra Behn. Betterton received help and guidance in playwriting from Aphra Behn, and some of his work has been attributed to both him and Behn. Some of his work includes, T//he Amorous Widow// (partly based on Molière’s //Georges Dandin), The Woman Made a Justice//, //The Amorous Widow;// any of these works could have been completed with the help of Aphra Behn. Another intriguing perspective on his writing career is his hesitation to publish his own plays. Most of his plays seem to have been published years after being written and some have not even been published although there is a record of it being written. There is even a chance that some of his plays are completely attributed to Aphra Behn because of the lack of clear authorship portrayed by him. In fact, his hesitancy and lack of authorship became a joke among his contemporaries as shown by 1676 //A Session of Poets:// //Apollo quite tir’d with their tedious harangue,// //Finds at last Tom Betterton’s face in the gang,// //And since poets without the kind players may hang,// //By his own sacred light he solemnly swore,// //That in search of a laureate he’d look out no more.// //A general murmur ran quite through the hall,// //To think that the hays to an actor should fall;// //But Apollo, to quiet and pacify all,// //E’en told ’em, to put his desert to the test,// //That he had made plays as well as the best,// //And was the great’st wonder the age ever bore,// //For of all the play scribblers that e’er writ before// //His wit had most worth and most modesty in’t,// //For he had writ plays, yet ne’er came in print.//

**Mr. Betterton and Mrs. Betterton** They met in the fast-paced lifestyle of theatre and slowly were recognized as the classic theater couple who would play in the lead roles of the plays at the time. Before long, Mary Saunders was referred to as Mrs. Betterton and they were viewed as husband and wife among their peers. It later became unraveled that they did not obtain a marriage license until later on in their relationship. This seems interesting because there are no details recorded concerning their belated marriage, however, I personally like to assume that as two great members of Duke’s company, they were simply too busy to stand in a church and get married. Later on, they played roles together and apart in their career.

(Mrs. Betterton)
**How He Would Have Portrayed Solyman, Belville, Dorimant in //The Siege of Rhodes, The Rover, The Man of Mode//** Although I did not mention much of his manager career throughout these excerpts, I believe that it is one of the most critical aspects of his life that directly affects his acting. It is through his ownership of the stage that he is able to dominate each character he portrays and ends up leaving an impact on the audience that still echoes through the 21st century. Solyman, Belville, and Dorimant are all different characters in that one is more sympathetic and relatable than the others, and some are more clever and cunning than others. However, the common field that each character portrays is the fact that they are a major character in each play. This means that Betterton had the skills and voice to encapsulate each character and serve justice to each play. If he were alive and came to our class to give a live performance as either one of these characters, then we would see that character come alive through Betterton.

Works Cited (Primary to Secondary)

//A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. Volume 2: Belfort to Byzand//.: Available through: Adam Matthew, Marlborough, Eighteenth Century Drama, http://www.eighteenthcenturydrama.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/BL_OAH_1_Biographical_Dictionary_V2 [Accessed April 26, 2018].

//An account of the life of that celebrated tragedian Mr. Thomas Betterton. Containing A distinct Relation of his Excellencies in his Profession, and Character in private Life. And interspersed with an account of the English theatre during his time.// London, MDCCXLIX. [1749]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. University of Maryland College Park. 25 Apr. 2018 <[] &source=gale&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=umd_um&tabID=T001&docId=CW100168939&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0&docLevel=FASCIMILE>.

Gildon, Charles, and Thomas Betterton. //The Life of Mr. Thomas Betterton: the Late Eminent Tragedian. To Which Is Added The Amorous Widow, or the Wanton Wife: a Comedy / by Mr. Betterton.//Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1710.

Lowe, Robert William. //Thomas Betterton//. Nabu Press, 2010.

Roberts, David. //Thomas Betterton: the Greatest Actor of the Restoration Stage//. Cambridge University Press, 2010.

“Thomas Betterton.” //National Portrait Gallery//, www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw81784/Thomas-Betterton.