Playhouse Creatures

by April De Angelis

Excellent Book

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, Feminism

80 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mission 2026: Binge reviewing (and rereading on occasion) all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review, back when I read them.

Set during the Restoration era, when women were first legally allowed to perform on the English stage, the play reimagines the lives orbiting around figures like Nell Gwyn and Charles II of England, but it refuses to polish them into heritage-drama porcelain. Instead, it gives us working women—performers navigating desire, competition, economic precarity, and the constant male gaze disguised as applause. What I found most arresting is how De Angelis handles visibility. These women are abruptly seen—publicly, spectacularly—but that visibility is double-edged. The stage liberates and commodifies them in the same breath. Fame is currency; beauty is capital; youth is perishable stock. The theatre becomes a proto-modern marketplace where art, sexuality, and survival blur. Watching their negotiations—friendships curdling into competition, loyalty strained by opportunity—feels awkwardly contemporary. Swap candlelight for Instagram, and the ecosystem isn’t entirely different. The language crackles with wit but never drifts into nostalgia. De Angelis resists romanticising the “first actresses” as uncomplicated pioneers. They are ambitious, flawed, tender, calculating—human. The Restoration stage itself becomes a metaphor for modern womanhood: perform, adapt, charm, and endure. And behind the laughter lies a sharp awareness of structural limits. The king may adore you, the audience may roar, but the system remains stacked. Reading this now, I was struck by how postmodern it feels—history not as fixed tableau but as reclaimed narrative. De Angelis doesn’t ask us to revere these women; she asks us to witness them. To see how they carved space in a culture that both desired and distrusted them. It’s theatre about theatre, yes—but also about agency, spectacle, and the eternal hustle of being seen on your own terms. To conclude, this play feels like stepping backstage into history and discovering it smells of greasepaint, sweat, oranges, ambition—and danger.

Recommended.

[Aaron Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely play. It concerns four Restoration actresses and a dresser. Two were real stars of the Restoration theatre – Mary Betterton and Nell Gwynn. Although Nell Gwynn is certainly the flashier of the two and better remembered by history, Mrs. Betterton was a wonderful actress and also a teacher of younger actresses. This play is a tribute to both of them but with an especial nod to Mrs. B. It's a great part, and this is a lovely play.

[Reuss Gabriella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frequently on our plate in drama courses, my students and I have always found it hilarious. It has inspired several BA and MA theses.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good parts and lovely moments. A bit didactic at times.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am writing this review in the perspective of a drama student who had read, learnt, studied and directed this play for a grade.

I really take my hat off to Angelis for writing this, creating a play with only female characters focusing on what is was like and the journey of the first actresses. Each characters story is well developed but it isn’t just laid out, it’s intertwined with the plot and paced really well throughout. I feel like the characters really make this play. Learning about what motivates them and seeing them change; watching them want and try to get what they want, is rather satisfying, I feel like I’m there with them. Maybe a lot of that is acting it out. I really like the plot in this play, though it’s easy to miss a lot of it when you're reading it, the subtleties that you have to see and pay attention to, such as the shoes, really make it a play worth reading.Context is everything to this play if you truly want to appreciate it, some research goes a long way.
I gave it three stars because as much as I enjoyed reading it, I would of liked more plot, the whole thing seems rather quick, though that could be considered intentional to show how quickly an actresses career lasts. However staging sometimes seems awkward as characters stand around waiting for others to finish talking, it's hard to perform and feel comfortable on stage and I think it might look odd to watch. I doubt I’d read it again, but I would totally recommend it if you like historical plays, or plays about women. I would definitely go and watch this play and will keep an eye out for it in theatres.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting play, but I wanted to see more of Mrs Barry and maybe Aphra Behn.

[Debora · Rating 3 out of 5]

The play needs some sort of historical context to be fully appreciated. Even then, it still wasn't as satisfactory as I had hoped.

[Aili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting take on early female actors in restoration England. Parts of it feel awkward, but it would be fun to try staging!

[B.S. Casey]

I

[Fé]

Very interesting. About the situation of the first female actresses in XVIIth century England.