Thomas Killigrew
This painting of Thomas Killigrew hangs in the Long Gallery at Gawthorpe Hall. There is some debate as to whether he looks happy because he has recently married or unhappy because his beloved monarch (Charles I, seen in the background) has just been beheaded. One visitor to the Hall suggested he might have an unhappy expression because he had recently married. Tut!
When you are trying to achieve recognition as a writer, it is unsettling to discover those (such as Cowley whom I mentioned the other day) who achieved high fame but who are almost unknown today. Killigrew is such another.
Killigrew was renownedly witty, a writer of very popular plays - sometimes criticised for their vulgarity, a loyal supporter of Charles II and a central figure in the revival of English drama after the Restoration. His King's Company played at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
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