This project uses Gephi to visualize how performances of Millwood in George Lillo’s The London Merchant changed over time by translating archival casting records into a network. I was most interested in tracking which actresses repeated the role, particularly within the changing political context of the period. compiled and cleaned data on performances (dates and venues/companies when available) and the actresses cast as Millwood, standardizing names to avoid duplicate identities. From this dataset, which I pulled from the London Stage Database, I built a network linking productions to performers, then used projections to highlight relationships among actresses (shared performance contexts) and among performance moments (recurring casting patterns).

In Gephi, I used layout tools and community detection to reveal clusters that suggest distinct casting “eras.” Node size and edge weight represent frequency: larger performer nodes indicate actresses who played Millwood repeatedly or across multiple venues, while thicker ties show strong associations between a performer and a particular theatrical circuit. These visual patterns make it easier to see when the role is dominated by a few repeat performers versus when it circulates more widely.

Read alongside historical context, the visualization supports an argument about theatrical labor, repertory practice, and audience taste, showing how casting shifts shape Millwood’s interpretive possibilities across time.

The main visualization is on the right of this text block.