Over the course of the film, we got to see a multitude of examples of historical English theater. The film begins with a theater system that excluded women from acting, even in female roles. I found this to be especially interesting in that women were still portrayed as possessing considerable power in the film, as is the case with Charles II's mistress Nell Gwynn. We were also able to see several performance spaces, of varying shapes and sizes. The main theater, where the central theater company performs, is very rectangular and seems to stray from the more classical arched auditorium. This, combined with the realism seen in the final version of the death scene, seem to be elements of modernist theater that could have developed during this time period.
Theater had been outlawed for the period of time that Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate led the nation, but despite it's renewal under Charles II, we saw several instances of Charles exerting royal authority over the art form. As a result of Charles' decree that female roles must be played by women, Ned Kynaston loses control of his life. I find the role that royal power had over the art world to be very interesting.