SOURCE: Smith, Dane Farnsworth. “Sir William D'Avenant and the Duke of Buckingham.” In The Critics in the Audience of the London Theatres from Buckingham to Sheridan: A Study of Neoclassicism in the Playhouse 1671-1779, pp. 17-25. Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press, 1953.

In the essay below, Smith discusses Buckingham's role as a theater critic and his inclusion of the critic characters Smith and Johnson in The Rehearsal.

The Play-house to Be Let

Perhaps the first reference to the critic in the drama of the Restoration, like so many other firsts in the history of English drama, is found in the work of Sir William D'Avenant. His Play-House to be Let was probably acted in 1663. In this comedy the people of the theatre are discussing expedients for keeping the theatre going during the lean days of vacation. If they are to eat during these scanty days when...