Elizabeth Polwheele

E. Polwhele (or Polewheele; later Lobb?; c. 1651 – c. 1691) was a playwright that became one of the first women to write for the professional stage in Restoration London.

Life and work Little is known of Polwhele's life, though she has been tentatively identified as the daughter of nonconformist minister Theophilus Polwhele. 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 although the identification is "somewhat startling."

There are records of Polwhele's having written three plays: Elysium, "possibly a religious masque,"

Manuscript

First production On October 11–12, 2021, second year students of the Shakespeare and Performance program at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia premiered the first confirmed 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

Plays Elysium (lost) The Faythfull Virgins (ca. 1670; manuscript) The Frolicks; or, The Lawyer Cheated (1671)