The explosion of creative energy of the Renaissance was consolidated in the following period, the Enlightenment, into paths of refinement, rational order, and social and philosophical illumination. During this time, theatre was fundamentally associated with the courts of kings in London, Madrid, and Paris, making the label "the royal theatre" apt.
Across Europe, kings and their courts of landed aristocracy patronized and in some cases participated in the theatre. The theatre became a kind of clubhouse for the aristocracy, a place to see others and be seen. As a result, playwrights were pressured to find means of holding the audience's attention. The era's accepted dramaturgy, known as neoclassicism, derived from Renaissance scholars' study of classical works, particularly Aristotle. In accordance with new sensibilities of rational order, it included the avoidance of stage violence and vigorous physical action and the following of "rules," such as the unities of time, place, and action, which were thought to make a play most believable. Staging was affected most by Renaissance tradition as well as the adoption of the proscenium arch, creating a clear frontal relationship between actor and audience, strictly defining the audience and stage areas, and providing a context for the later development of spectacular scenic effects. The addition of women to the stage introduced a new level of sensual realism to the stage.
France created the most impressive theatre of the Royal era. The theatres themselves derived from the rectangular buildings of another aristocratic divertissement, jeu de paume (the forerunner of modern tennis). With light from high windows and galleries for spectators, simple platform stages could be erected at one end to serve as a theatre and Paris's purpose-build theatre adopted the same configuration, within which the old nobility and new bourgeoisie crowded, ate, drank, conversed, and, in some cases, sat onstage. The works of the playwright Molière (born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) typify the Royal theatre age. He was a complete man of the theatre as an actor, critic, producer, and writer. His comedies explore foibles of the age and irreconcilable human conflicts with exceptional insight and wit. His play The Bourgeois Gentleman reflects most of his work in being a social satire and pleasing both the court and public with its combination of wit, romance, social commentary, and farcical hijinks. Examining it in depth provides insight to Molière's dramaturgy and Royal era staging practices.
England's Restoration period derives its name from the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, following eighteen years of revolution and Puritan domination. When Charles II took the throne he brought with him the sensibilities of the French theatre and court, where he had spent the years of political upheaval. The French neoclassicists, therefore, influenced England's theatrical architecture and dramaturgy decisively. The English stage, however, would suggest the more intimate playing of Shakespeare's era by adding a front apron and doors for entrances in the proscenium arch. Restoration dramas mirrored their age with their scintillating wit, ribaldry, topicality, and invective. A close look at what may be Restoration comedy's masterpiece, William Congreve's The Way of the World, suggests the wit and verbal dexterity of the age's characters as well as the staging practices of the time.
