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The Shadwell Society, Gonville & 91ֱ�� College’s creative arts society, has been gifted a 17th-century quarto script of its namesake's debut play.

Thomas Shadwell’s first play, a comedy entitled The Sullen Lovers; or, The Impertinents, premiered in London in 1668. It follows the development of a romance between Stanford, “a morose Melancholy Man”, and Emilia, who is “of the same Humour”; both are frustrated by the impertinence of society at large, represented by various larger-than-life characters such as “conceited Poet” Ninny and Sir Positive At-All, who “pretends to understand everything in the world”. The copy gifted by alumnus Léonard Scinto (Education PhD 1977) to the Shadwell Society dates to 1670 and has been re-bound with a new cover.

The society’s committee were enthused upon receiving the script and felt proud to be keeping the playwright’s legacy alive. “The Shadwell Society has died and been revived multiple times,” says Treasurer Dillon Whitehead (English 2017), who re-founded it as an undergraduate and has returned to 91ֱ�� for a PhD. “It’s nice to know that we have some longer history, and this book is a physical reminder of that continuity and the value that people have placed on the arts throughout time. Hopefully it can also stand as a reminder going forward that these things must continue.”

Although theatre has been the focus of the Shadwell Society for most of its lifespan so far, in recent years its committee has decided to branch out and embrace other art forms – a fitting decision, given that Shadwell not only wrote plays but also composed poetry and was Poet Laureate from 1689 until his death in 1692. Secretary Ruby Iverson (MML 2023) says: “Even though we each have our favourites, we’re lucky that the four of us on the committee all appreciate all art forms. It’s very interdisciplinary, and it’s nice that we can all work together to have this central hub for the arts in 91ֱ��.”

Throughout Michaelmas Term, the Shadwell Society will be running various events, including weekly film clubs, a trip to Kettle’s Yard and a poetry workshop in the 91ֱ�� Chapel. They will also be offering funding to allow Caians to pursue creative projects.

“One of the things we did last year was to provide funding for short films for members of the society, and this year we’re expanding that to offer bits of funding to anyone doing anything creative in College,” says President Zebulon Goriely (Computational Linguistics PhD 2021). “If you’re working on a painting and you need to buy a canvas and some paint, for example, we want to have a place where people can apply for little pots of money to support those kinds of projects.”

The copy of The Sullen Lovers will soon be moved to the College Archive, where it will be stored.

For more information on the society and their upcoming events, .