Page 6.A. Much Ado About Nothing: Mrs. Abington as Beatrice, London, Drury Lane Theatre, 1775.

Page 6.A. The constrictions of this costume and props deny the actress almost any bodily expression of feeling, indeed much movement of any kind. In some European neoclassical theatres, such as those in Paris, an actress did not (indeed barely could) sit down while on the stage. Thus the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick would remain almost entirely verbal. On the other hand, when Beatrice was played by an Elizabethan boy actor verbal duels would have been more important than physical intimacy.