The Duke's Company was a theatre company chartered by King Charles II at the start of the Restoration era, 1660. Sir William Davenant was manager of the company under the patronage of Prince James, Duke of York. During that period, theatres began to flourish again after they had been closed from the restrictions throughout the English Civil War and the Interregnum. The Duke's Company existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged with the King's Company to form the United Company.
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👉 Duke's Company in the context of United Company
The United Company was a London theatre company formed in 1682 with the merger of the King's Company and the Duke's Company.
Both the Duke's and King's Companies suffered poor attendance during the turmoil of the Popish Plot period, 1678–81. When the King's Company fell into difficulties due to mismanagement, the Duke's Company joined with them to form the United Company in 1682, managed by the Duke's Company leaders. The United Company began performances in November 1682. The King's Company theatre, the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, was used mainly for plays, while the Duke's Dorset Garden Theatre was devoted to operas and spectaculars.
In this Dossier
Duke's Company in the context of The Cheats of Scapin
The Cheats of Scapin is a 1676 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Otway. It is an adaptation of the French play Scapin the Schemer by Molière. It premiered at the Dorset Garden Theatre performed by the Duke's Company as an afterpiece to Otway's new tragedy Titus and Berenice.
The original cast included Anthony Leigh as Scapin, Samuel Sandford as Thrifty, James Nokes as Gripe, Henry Norris as Octavian, Thomas Percival as Leander, John Richards as Shift, Elizabeth Barry as Lucia and Anne Shadwell as Clara.
Duke's Company in the context of King's Company
The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged with the Duke's Company to form the United Company.