Susanna Centlivre

Susanna Centlivre (c. 1667–1723) was an English playwright and actress whose comedies, including The Busybody and A Bold Stroke for a Wife, remained in the repertory long after her death.

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The Busybody: A 1709 comedy by Susanna Centlivre in which Marplot’s meddling complicates the lovers’ plans. Its enduring stage life made it Centlivre’s most successful comedy.
Comedy of manners: A comedy that satirizes the social behavior, courtship, and conventions of a particular class. Centlivre’s witty dialogue and social scheming belong to this broader comic tradition.
Anne Bracegirdle: An English actress celebrated for her work on the Restoration and early eighteenth-century stage. Bracegirdle performed in Centlivre’s plays, connecting the dramatist with a leading actress.
English Restoration: The period of English history beginning with the restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660. Centlivre’s early life and theatrical inheritance were shaped by the culture that followed the Restoration.
Women playwrights: Women who write plays for performance, spanning different periods, forms, and theatrical traditions. Centlivre became one of the most commercially successful women dramatists of her era.
A Bold Stroke for a Wife: A 1718 comedy by Susanna Centlivre about a suitor who must win approval from four guardians. Its clever disguises and elaborate courtship plot exemplify her comic craft.
Restoration comedy: English comic drama associated with the period following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Centlivre inherited its wit and intrigue while writing after the Restoration era.
Colley Cibber: An English actor, playwright, and theatre manager who became poet laureate in 1730. Cibber and Centlivre worked in the same London theatrical world and repertory.
Augustan literature: The English literary period associated with writers such as Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift in the early eighteenth century. Centlivre’s career unfolded during this period’s flourishing print and theatrical culture.
David Garrick: An English actor and theatre manager who reshaped eighteenth-century stage performance. Garrick’s theatre continued to stage Centlivre’s comedies, extending their repertory life.