| Elizabeth Polewhele | |
| Birth Date: | c. 1651 |
| Death Date: | c. 1691 |
| Language: | English |
| Occupation: | Playwright |
| Notablework: | The Frolicks, or, The Lawyer Cheated (1671) |
| Spouse: | Stephen Lobb ? |
| Relatives: | Theophilus Polwhele (father?) |
| Portaldisp: | yes |
Elizabeth Polewheele (or Polewhele; later Lobb?; c. 1651 – c. 1691), playwright, was one of the first women to write for the professional stage in Restoration London.[1]
Little is known of Polewheele's life, though she has been tentatively identified as the daughter of nonconformist minister Theophilus Polwhele.[2] That Elizabeth Polwhele was born in or around 1651, married another minister, Stephen Lobb, had five children, died in 1691, and is "probably" the playwright[3] although the identification is "somewhat startling."
There are records of Polewheele's having written three plays: Elysium, "possibly a religious masque," now lost; The Faythfull Virgins, a tragedy in rhyme; and The Frolicks, a comedy. These latter plays exist only in manuscript. There is also "probably a eulogistic poem."
The Faythfull Virgins was likely performed at Lincoln's Inn Fields about 1670.
The Frolicks was possibly performed by the Duke's Company in 1671 at the new Dorset Garden Theatre; it features Clarabell, a witty Restoration heroine, and Rightwit, a rake. It was dedicated to Prince Rupert and signed "E. Polewheele". In the dedication she mentions performance of both her earlier plays, and continues, "I am young, no scholar, and what I write I write by nature, not by art."
Along with Aphra Behn and Frances Boothby, Polewheele was one of the first women to write for the professional stage in the early Restoration period.
Written in or about 1671, the play existed solely in manuscript form until it was edited and published in a scholarly edition by Cornell University Press in 1977.[4]
On October 11–12, 2021, second year students of the Shakespeare and Performance program at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia[5] premiered the first full length production of The Frolicks. The show was produced by the program and directed by Sara Hymes and Gregory Jon Phelps, two members of the Hedgepig Ensemble located in Brooklyn, New York. Hedgepig worked closely with the production's publicity team as the play was selected for Hedgepig's 2021 "Expand the Canon" list.
Cast·Andrew Steven Knight as Rightwit · Rosemary Richards as Clarabell · Kelsey Linberg as Leonora/Philario · Cole Metz as Mr. Zany · Chase D. Fowler as Sir Gregory · Kara Hankard as Plainman/Mistress · Gil Mitchel as Speak · Beth Somerville as Swallow · Kelsey Harrison as Mark · Madison Mayberry as Sir Makelove · George Durfee as Lord Courtall · Kailey Potter as Lady Meanwell · Cameron Taylor as Sir Meanwell · Sam Corey as Ralph · Madison Rudolph as Procreate/Drawer · Ariel Tatum as Faith/Turnkey/Constable