The Restoration period saw a monarch return to the English throne, and in turn, plays staged once more in London theatres, including new plays such as The Provoked Wife and Venice Preserved, as well as re-stagings of earlier works by Shakespeare. Follow this period in history through our interactive timeline, from the closing of the theatres in 1642, through to the return of the monarchy, and ending in a glorious festival of Shakespeare in the 18th century.