The Country Wife was written by William Wycherley in 1675. Notably, this is in the middle of the restoration period of English history, which was from 1660 to 1875. The restoration period is named for the restoration of the English monarchy. During this time, the common populous began resisting the ideas of the Puritans, which gave rise to a great deal of restoration literature. Theatre was rising again, and a notable genre of comedy arose as well: restoration comedy. Restoration comedy usually had complex plots, some cynicism, and sexual jokes. The Country Wife is distinctly one of those plays.
The lighting used in theatres 1675 was candle chandeliers and oil lamps. This means there was little control over the lighting in the original shows of The Country Wife. If using oil lamps, one could dim the lights. One could even place oil lamps or candles on the proscenium so that actors were lit from their feet up. This shadowed unreliable lighting does not feel correct for the fast-paced comedy, The Country Wife. With this in mind, I chose to plan the play using natural lighting as if it were being performed outside in a garden.
More specifically, I chose to use natural lighting for the whole play for two distinct reasons. The first is because it is a comedy. The play is fast paced, and it uses complex modern spotlighting would be confusing and distract from the dialogue. Additionally, I feel that the play itself does not translate well to modern times, so I feel that to appreciate what is taking place in the play one must watch it without the distractions of the modern spectacle. I believe this would bring one closer to being able to understand some of the humor that is outdated.
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Second, I feel that the change in the lighting due to the sun traveling across the sky would be a good showcase of the process of the play. If the play were to begin at noon, by the end of the play the sun would have moved from the center the sky. I feel that this can represent confusion that ultimately unravels throughout the play. The play ends without happy endings for everyone, but with hope for a few. Harcourt wins over Alithea, and though Horner and Mrs. Pinchwife are not able to get together, Horner’s secret is not reviled. Thus, the play would end with the sun lower in the sky, but still present. Additionally, the whole play ends with a scene that takes place in the late evening.
It can also be noted that for the scenes that take place at more particular times of day, props can be used to show the time. For instance, in the scene when Mrs. Pinchwife pretends to be Alithea, the characters can be holding lamps or candles to establish the darkness. Most of the scenes take place during the day so I do not feel that this will be a terrible problem.
I feel that the play should end in the early evening, so there is a distinct change in lighting, but everything is still visible. To determine the optimum time to begin the play, I calculated the location of the sun in the sky based on the fact that it moves at 15 degrees per hour (see diagram). I choose to begin the play around 3 pm so the play will be over around 5 pm, assuming the play is around two hours long if performed. This also takes into account that the usual sunset in Atlanta (assuming the play would be performed here) is around 6:30.
