Theatre and Public Entertainment

Where it surfaces

• January 1660–61

  Pepys attends plays such as 'The Silent Woman' and 'The Widdow,' and comments on performances and actors.

• February 1660–61

  Pepys attends performances of 'The Scornful Lady' and 'The Virgin Martyr,' and hears trumpets and drums at Whitehall.

• March 1660–61

  Pepys attends multiple plays including 'Love's Mistress', 'King and No King', 'The Spanish Curate', 'The Bondman', and 'Rollo'.

• April 1661

  Pepys attends several plays ('Rule a Wife and Have a Wife,' 'The Little Thiefe,' 'The Humersome Lieutenant') and enjoys music and social gatherings.

• July 1661

  Pepys attends the opera 'The Siege of Rhodes' and the play 'Claracilla', noting the shift in audience from traditional theatres to the new opera.

• August 1661

  Pepys attends several plays including 'The Joviall Crew' and 'The Witts', visits Bartholomew Fair, and expresses guilt over his love of plays.

• September 1661

  Pepys attends multiple plays this month, including 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' and 'King and No King', noting their quality.

• October 1661

  Pepys attends plays including Victoria Corombona and Argalus and Parthenia, commenting on the performances.

• November 1661

  Pepys attends plays such as 'The Joviall Crew', 'The Bondman', and 'Father's Own Son', and visits Bartholomew Fair and a gaming house.

• April 1662

  Pepys frequently attends plays, such as 'The Maid in the Mill' and 'The Bondman', and enjoys walks and cheesecake outings.

• May 1662

  Pepys sees 'The Knight of the Burning Pestle' and 'Doctor Faustus' (poorly done), and watches wrestling in Moorefields.

• November 1662

  Pepys attends a performance of 'The Scornful Lady' at the Cockpit with the royal family present.

• December 1662

  Pepys attends plays ('The Villaine' and 'The Second Part of Rhodes') and comments on the audience and performances.

• January 1662–63

  Pepys attends performances of 'The Villaine' and 'Twelfth Night', noting audience composition and his own evolving taste.

• May 1663

  Pepys visits the newly opened Theatre Royal, critiques the play 'The Humerous Lieutenant,' and notes the fashion of ladies in the pit.

• June 1663

  Pepys attends 'The Faithful Shepherdess' and notes the fashion of vizards.

• August 1664

  Pepys attends 'Bartholomew Fair' and 'Henry the Fifth'; hears of actor Clun's murder; Killigrew's plan for a nursery.

• September 1664

  Pepys attends The Rivalls at the Duke's house and visits Bartholomew Fair, enjoying rope dancing and shows.

• December 1664

  Pepys attends The Rivalls at the Duke's House, noting the good acting of Betterton and his wife and Harris.

• May 1665

  Scientific experiments at Colonel Blunt's and Gresham College serve as intellectual entertainment.

• January 1665–66

  Pepys enjoys music and singing with Mrs. Knipp and others, and praises Sir J. Minnes's mimical talents, which would suit the stage.

• August 1667

  Pepys attends multiple plays, notes the empty houses, and gossips about Nell Gwyn's fall from favor, illustrating the social role of theatre.

• February 1667–68

  Pepys attends 'The Tempest' and 'She Would if She Could,' noting the crowded house and the play's reception.

• April 1668

  Pepys attends plays including 'The English Monsieur' and 'The Black Prince', and visits Knipp after the play.

• May 1668

  Pepys attends multiple plays including 'The Surprisal', 'The Sullen Lovers', 'The Tempest', and 'The Committee'.

• September 1668

  Pepys attends 'The Maid in the Mill', a puppet show of Whittington, and Jacob Hall's rope dancing.

• October 1668

  Pepys attends multiple plays, including 'The Faythful Shepherdess' and 'The Queen of Arragon', and praises a French eunuch singer.

• December 1668

  Pepys attends several plays, including 'The Usurper', 'Catiline's Conspiracy', and 'King Harry the Eighth', commenting on their quality.

• January 1668–69

  Pepys attends plays (Macbeth, The Maiden Queen) and discusses playhouse management with Tom Killigrew.

• February 1668–69

  Pepys watches a French showman, attends a play, and sees a Spanish dancer.