Thomas Betterton

David Roberts (Birmingham City University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

For the half-century of a career which started on the eve of Charles II’s Restoration in 1660, Thomas Betterton was widely regarded as, in the words of Samuel Pepys, “the best actor in the world”. He was also London’s foremost theatre manager, an occasional playwright, and a friend to major writers including Dryden and Pope. His name was a by-word for some rare theatrical commodities. To do as Betterton did meant reading a role for its emotional logic; it meant transcending limitations of age and physique to make an audience understand a character, not simply admire the actor who played it; it meant behaving with the sort of professionalism which made people suspend their usual judgments about the semi-respectable status of actors; it meant observing the highest standards in…

2535 words

Citation: Roberts, David. "Thomas Betterton". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 April 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=403, accessed 19 March 2024.]

403 Thomas Betterton 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.