Why was theatre banned in England in 1642?
Percival Hackett
2025-05-13 09:10:15
Count answers: 4
The banning of plays in London and across England in 1642 was a moment that has come to symbolise the grey years of Puritanical rule in England during Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth. Charles’ enemies, on the other hand, were fervent Puritans, united by their disapproval of the monarchy, which was seen as too Catholic and ‘of the theatre’, which was despised for its frivolity and, like most other forms of entertainment, regarded as sinful. The Puritans vs the monarchy, for Elizabeth I and her successors James I and Charles I, theatre was a good way of keeping the people of London happy, and something that they enjoyed being associated with. The banning of plays on 6 September 1642 was ordered by the ‘Long Parliament’, which would remain in power until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. It declared that “public stage plays” were of “lascivious merth and levity” and therefore incompatible with “these times of humiliation” and civil war. By 1642, there was also growing friction between the king, who maintained belief in his divine right to absolute rule, and the Puritan-dominated Parliament, which were chafing under what it saw as Charles’ heavy-handed, incompetent and authoritarian rule. This left London solely under parliamentary control, and power in the hands of the unpopular but politically gifted Puritan faction, headed by Oliver Cromwell.
Ayla Johnston
2025-05-13 07:49:14
Count answers: 4
The English theatre was banned due to the added expense to the government simply for the purpose of entertainment. The government also found it unseemly to have the theatre running during the times of the English civil war and discouraged people from having a good time but rather mourning due to the state of the country. The main reason behind the ban on theatres was the rise of Oliver Cromwell. The Cromwells belonged to the Puritan Christian Society that was a protestant group that claimed that the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church needed purification. They had strict Christian values and believed in an orthodox method of living life. They opposed theatrical entertainment and called it sinful and frivolous. Due to the high number of Puritans in the Parliament in 1642, they banned theatre completely. Another reason to ban theatre was to cut down the meetings of the Royalists in one place. All the Royalists regularly met for the plays at the theatres and schemed about different plans against the Parliament.
Morton Nitzsche
2025-05-13 07:09:42
Count answers: 3
The Long Parliament ordered the closure of all London theatres on 2 September 1642, just after the First English Civil War had begun. The order cited the current "times of humiliation" and "sad and pious solemnity", a zeitgeist incompatible with "public stage-plays", which were representative of "lascivious Mirth and Levity". The closure was the culmination of the rising anti-theatrical sentiment among Puritans, and along with William Prynne's Histriomastix (1633), its text was the most notorious attack on theatre in English history. It was unclear to contemporary audiences whether the intent of the Act was a permanent ban or a temporary response to political tensions. The directive did not demand a permanent end to theatre, but rather demanded their absence "while these sad causes and set times of humiliation do continue".
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