The Innocent Mistress - Fall 2021

Script Analysis : The Innocent Mistress      The Innocent Mistress, a multiplot play, was published and performed for the first time in 1697. It was Pix’s second comedy, which was a farce in three acts that she had written in 1696 in response to The Female Wits. The Innocent Mistress constitutes a characteristic example of an Augustan play, with  manners and intrigue. There is a moralistic turn with respect to Carolean tradition, stereotyped plots, and a prescriptive end. Characterization and plot are overpowered by dialogue and humor, leaving the plot to be a series of complicated situations thrown together to stir conflict and humor. The interwoven love conflicts throughout the play fits “the comedy of manners'' that was popular during this time. It also fits traditional patterns of Roman New Comedy, consisting of ; prologue or exposition, epistasis, or the core of the action, and catastrophe, or its resolution. The evolution that the “happy couple” suffe...

Original Context: The Restoration period was a time for comedies like The Innocent Mistress to thrive.  The Innocent Mistress has similar aspects to comedies of manner that were very popular during this time period. Comedies of manners poked fun at social norms of the time, more specifically the social norms of the upper class. Comedies of manner use language that is witty and has sexually suggestive references, which can be seen heavily throughout the script of The Innocent Mistress. Comedies of manners were popular because the audience at the time wanted plays that reflected their reality and other ethical and and social values that they are familiar with.   It seems Mary Pix wrote this play to not directly attack her audience but gently make a joke of misogynist and cynical plays. She had eight female characters, which is big difference from other plays that usually only had two to four roles for women. Pix strays away from the common theme o...

Modern Adaptations and Audiences  Mary Pix undoubtably helped opened the door for female playwrights in the UK but even as influential as her work was and is, in the modern day there isn't much revamping of her work into new, stand alone pieces. The reimagining of her work gets done primarily through new, experimental designs in productions of her original plays. Even though The Innocent Mistress doesn't get performed in the modern day quite as much as one might expect because it isn't as prolific as Pix's more well known piece, The Beau Defeated , there are still theatre companies that have been eager to tackle her lesser known piece. A large majority of modern production history I've found takes place specifically in acting schools in the UK, for example the UEA Drama Studio located in Norwich, England. They included The Innocent Mistress in their restoration comedy series in 2015 alongside The Country Wife by William Wycherley and The Beaux Stratagem by George Fa...

    In 1697,  The Innocent Mistress was first staged and performed at Little Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. The English Restoration period was heavily influenced by the French. Theatre during the English Restoration was characterized by having lavish designs and risky humor. Theatre now more than ever was focused on the spectacle aspect. During this rapidly-evolving period, there was a big shift from outdoor theaters to indoor theaters. Having indoor theaters allowed for the use of artificial lighting and moving scenery, which really heightened the viewing experience. Props also became more popular during this time. The sets were now mobile which allowed for scene changes, a concept not really brought to light thus far. In The Innocent Mistress, there are a few instances in which scene changes/set changes would have been necessary, such as when one scene ends with the characters outside and the next scene begins in Bellinda's house. Because of artificial light, performan...