Betterton, Thomas c.1635-1710
English actor, theatre manager and adapter of dramas

Born in London, he joined the acting company which reopened the Cockpit theatre in Drury Lane in 1660, and the following year joined Sir William D'Avenant's company at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. After D'Avenant's death in 1671, Betterton moved to the Dorset Garden Theatre, and then the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, when the two companies amalgamated (1682). In 1695 he reopened the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. A fine actor and a shrewd manager, he tailored many of Shakespeare's plays to suit the audiences of the times. He also wrote plays of his own, including The Amorous Widow (1667), and adapted a text for Henry Purcell's semi-opera The Prophetess, or The History of Dioclesian (1690). He is considered one of the most outstanding personalities of the Restoration era. His wife, Mary Sanderson (d.1712), was one of the first English actresses and shared his stage triumphs.