Women as Patrons of Drama

Many women served as dramatic patrons in early modern England. They helped make plays in private and public venues by commissioning and funding performances, sanctioning the travel of theater companies, and supporting professional playwrights. Writers and publishers dedicated playbooks to women to thank them for their labor or to secure future patronage. Other female patrons were consumers who paid to see plays and bought playbooks. This entry introduces the substantial evidence for women’s dramatic patronage in Tudor, Stuart, and Restoration drama, including the especially active and well-documented contributions of Queen Elizabeth I; Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford; Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk; and Alice Egerton, Countess of Derby. It explores additional evidence for lower-ranking female patrons, summarizes scholarly findings on women’s patronage activities, and proposes directions for future research. Although their contributions have not always received due attention, women used dramatic patronage to promote social and political agendas as they played instrumental roles in shaping English theatrical culture.