Early career and libretti Planché's career as a playwright began, as already mentioned, in 1818 when
Amoroso, King of Little Britain, a play he had written for an amateur performance at a private theatre, was seen by
John Pritt Harley and subsequently performed at Drury Lane. The play was a success and Harley, along with
Stephen Kemble and
Robert William Elliston, encouraged Planché to take up play-writing full-time. Planché's early works were "generally unremarkable", one exception in this period being
The Vampire, or, The Bride of the Isles, produced at the Lyceum in August 1820,
Kenilworth Castle, or, the Days of Queen Bess, produced 8 February 1821, was also very successful. at the
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. In 1822 he wrote the
libretto (and some of the music) for his first full-scale opera,
Maid Marian; or, the Huntress of Arlingford.
Historical costume, dramatic copyright, tableaux vivants for the 1823 production of
King John in which Planché introduced historically accurate costumes In August 1823, in an issue of
The Album, he published an article saying that more attention should be paid to the time period of Shakespeare's plays, especially when it comes to costumes. In the same year, a casual conversation led to one of Planché's more lasting effects on British theatre. He observed to
Charles Kemble, the manager of Covent Garden, that "while a thousand pounds were frequently lavished upon a Christmas pantomime or an Easter spectacle, the plays of Shakespeare were put upon the stage with makeshift scenery, and, at the best, a new dress or two for the principal characters". Kemble "saw the possible advantage of correct appliances catching the taste of the town", and agreed to give Planché control of the costuming for the upcoming production of
King John, if he would carry out the research, design the costumes and superintend the production. Planché had little experience in this area and sought the help of antiquaries such as
Francis Douce and
Sir Samuel Meyrick. The research involved sparked Planché's latent antiquarian interests; these came to occupy an increasing amount of his time later in life. Despite the actors' reservations,
King John was a success and led to a number of similarly costumed Shakespeare productions by Kemble and Planché (
Henry IV, Part I,
As You Like It,
Othello,
Cymbeline,
Julius Caesar). In 1828 Planché left Covent Garden and went to work for Stephen Price at
Drury Lane. of
£10 for the privilege which Murray said he could not pay, citing the poor financial situation of his theatre. But he acquired a manuscript copy of the play and staged it without permission. This prompted Planché to begin campaigning for
copyright to be extended to dramatic works. He gathered a group of dramatists (including
John Poole,
James Kenney,
Joseph Lunn and
Richard Brinsley Peak) who prevailed upon writer and
MP George Lamb to introduce a bill in Parliament; but the bill did not pass its
third reading. In 1832
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a novelist and MP, was successful in getting a
select committee set up to consider dramatic copyright, as well as theatrical
censorship and the monopoly of the
patent theatres on drama. Planché gave evidence before the select committee; the following year the
Dramatic Copyright Act 1833 (
3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 15) was passed. Paintings inspired his work in a number of other plays. For
The Golden Branch (1847) and
Love and Fortune (1859), he created costumes based on the paintings of
Watteau. The latter play, which was subtitled
A Dramatic Tableau (in Watteau Colours), also included a
tableau from Watteau's
Noces de Village.
Extravaganzas and revues After a brief period as acting-manager of the Adelphi Theatre, Planché moved to the Olympic Theatre when
Lucia Vestris took over the management in 1831. He provided the first play which she produced,
Olympic Revels, or, Prometheus and Pandora. Planché used costume for comedic effect, not by the costumes being comic, but by the incongruity of realistic historical dress being juxtaposed with the actions of the actors. For example,
Olympic Revels opens with the gods of Olympus in classical Greek dress playing
whist. By 1836 these classical burlesques had become so popular that other writers were copying them. Feeling the need to do something different, Planché turned to a translation of the
féerie folie (French: fairy tale)
Riquet à la Houppe, which he had written some years earlier. The play was a success, and became the first of 23 "fairy extravaganzas", most of which were based on the fairy tales of
Madame d'Aulnoy. Planché's fascination with her work led the press to refer to him as Madame d'Aulnoy's "
preux chevalier" (French: devoted knight) and similar epithets. Planché's coined the term "extravaganza", defining it as "the whimsical treatment of a poetical subject". In 1879 two of his friends published his extravaganzas, together with some of his other works, as a five-volume set, entitled
The Extravaganzas of J. R. Planché, esq., (Somerset Herald) 1825–1871. Planché's scholarly approach was exhibited in this area as well; he "translated two volumes of fairy tales by Mme D'Aulnoy,
Perrault, and others, which were for the first time given in their integrity with biographical and historical notes and dissertations." Borrowing from the French again, Planché introduced the
revue to British theatre, as a commentary on recent events, particularly events in the theatre. and "I am quite certain that such masters of lyrical writing as
W. S. Gilbert ... would confirm me in my opinion that the songs and lyrics in the extravaganzas of Planché were as faultless in tone, tact and taste as they were rhythmically perfect". (The converse was also true; Planché approved of, and strongly influenced Gilbert's works) Planché's dramatic reputation was already fading before his death, and continued to do so in the twentieth century. He is still remembered for his influence on and contributions to British theatre over a long career. ==Antiquarian career==