Face-Painting in Renaissance Tragedy

Thereby Hangs a Tail: Jonson’s The Devil Is an Ass and Stage Representations of Devil-Servants

“…Jonson's play is preoccupied with make-up and artifice -as foregrounded in Lady Tailbush's salon scene of 4.1, in which Pug features as a not-so-willing participant -so the presence of a character whose cosmetics do represent who he really is, but whose devilishness appears more 'painted on' with each encounter with his human tormentors, provides an ironic sidelight on the typical Jonsonian presentation of cosmetics masking one's true nature. 38 As a final point, details concerning the personnel working in the King's Men when The Devil premiered might provide another solution to this interpretive difficulty. Only one actor can confidently be connected to Jonson's play: Dick Robinson, who was well-known for portraying female parts, and whose skill is capitalized on through his likely performance as Wittipol, a young gallant who impersonates a Spanish Lady because, according to the conceit of the play, 'Robinson' himself could not be acquired.…”

Toxic Encounters: Poisoning in Early Modern English Literature and Culture

“…Additionally, Annette Drew‐Bear and Tanya Pollard have produced investigations of poison’s rich symbolic value in dramatic texts, connecting poisoning’s materiality with theatrical considerations. Both Drew‐Bear (1981) and Pollard (1999) look at the poisonous materials such as lead and mercury used in stage makeup of the time and read those literal poisons against the period’s commonly voiced anti‐theatrical invective about “painting.” Here, poisoning becomes allied to anxieties about the relationship between appearance and reality in physical looks, moral constitution, and theatrical influence. Pollard expands on this work in her important monograph, Drugs and Theater in Early Modern England (2005).…”