Under the Puritan era, the English theater underwent an extremely challenging time. After Charles I’s overthrow in 1642, the theater, which had experienced tremendous popularity throughout Elizabeth’s reign, was officially shut down by an ordinance of Parliament. Drama was inactive and no public acting was permitted. Charles II ascended to the throne once more in 1660. Drama was also formally welcomed back to England with his comeback. The comedy, a social study and a replica of the pervasive sickness of the artificial, aristocratic English society of the period, is seen to be the main attraction of the Restoration theater. Congreve, Etherege, Wycherley, Farquhar, and Vanbrugh are the major creators of this new genre of comedic plays.