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The Beestons and the Art of Theatrical Management in Seventeenth-Century London

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The Beestons and the Art of Theatrical Management in Seventeenth-Century London THE BEESTONS AND THE ART OF THEATRICAL MANAGEMENT IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY LONDON by Christopher M. Matusiak A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of English University of Toronto © Copyright by Christopher M. Matusiak (2009) Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-61029-9 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-61029-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. THE BEESTONS AND THE ART OF THEATRICAL MANAGEMENT IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY LONDON Christopher M. Matusiak Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of English University of Toronto 2009 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines three generations of the Beeston family and its revolutionary impact on the developing world of seventeenth-century London theatre management. Like other early modern businesses, the Beeston enterprise thrived on commercial innovation, the strategic cultivation of patronage, and a capacity to perpetuate itself dynastically. England’s mid-century political crisis disrupted the family’s commercial supremacy but its management system would endure as the de facto standard structuring successful theatre business long after the Restoration. Following a critical introduction to the early history of theatrical management, the thesis’s four chapters chart the creation and institution of the Beeston management model. Chapter One examines the early career of Christopher Beeston, a minor stageplayer from Shakespeare’s company in the 1590s who set out ambitiously to reshape theatrical management at Drury Lane’s Cockpit playhouse in 1616. Chapter Two analyzes Beeston’s later career, particularly his unique appointment as “Governor” of a new royal company in 1637. New evidence suggests that the office was a reward for service to the aristocratic Herbert family and that traditional preferment was therefore as important as market competition to the creation of the Caroline paradigm of autocratic theatrical “governance.” Chapter Three explores the overlooked career of Elizabeth Beeston who, upon inheriting the Cockpit in 1638, became the first woman in English history to ii manage a purpose-built London theatre. New evidence concerning her subsequent husband, Sir Lewis Kirke, an adventurer to Canada, ship-money captain, and Royalist military governor, indicates political ideology motivated their joint effort to keep the Beeston playhouse open during the civil wars. Chapter Four addresses the question of why the larger Beeston enterprise eventually collapsed even as the management system it refined continued to support later theatrical entrepreneurs. During the Interregnum, contemporaries anticipated that William and George Beeston, Christopher’s son and grandson, would eventually dominate a renascent London stage; however, managers such as William Davenant and Thomas Betterton ultimately adapted the Beeston system more efficiently to the political environment after 1660. Thereafter, exhausted patronage, lost assets, and the abandonment of family tradition marked the end of the Beestons’ influential association with the London stage. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was generously funded by a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, a George C. Metcalf Research Fellowship from Victoria University at the University of Toronto, an Edward W. Nuffield Travel Fellowship from School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto, and a Graduate Travel Award from the Department of English at the University of Toronto. For this valuable assistance, I am very grateful. It was a privilege to write this dissertation under the supervision of John H. Astington. His insightful conversation, good humour, and excellent advice encouraged me at every stage of the undertaking. I also could not have had better thesis advisors than Anne Lancashire and Leslie Thomson, whose patient, constructive reading of these chapters led to many improvements. I wish to thank Leslie especially for sparking my interest in the Beestons and facilitating valuable research time at the Folger Shakespeare Library. John, Anne, and Leslie are model scholars and mentors and I feel fortunate to have shared in their extensive knowledge of early English theatre. For their generous assessment and feedback during my final oral examination, I am grateful to Holger Schott Syme and Deidre Lynch, and I owe special thanks to Richard Dutton for his detailed external report on that occasion. Our discussion on the morning of the exam opened my eyes to new avenues of research that I look forward to exploring soon. Others working in the field of early modern drama have helped me along the way. For their comments, suggestions, and kind words, I wish to thank the regular members of the Shakespeare Association of America’s theatre history seminar, particularly Peter H. Greenfield, William Ingram, David Kathman, Roslyn L. Knutson, Jeremy Lopez, iv William J. Lloyd, Sally-Beth MacLean, Lawrence Manley, Paul D. Menzer, Alan H. Nelson, Barbara D. Palmer, Peter R. Roberts, June Schlueter, and Tiffany Stern. Ian Lancashire’s graduate bibliography course introduced me to the pleasures and challenges of reading early modern manuscripts and Alexandra Johnston, Arleane Ralph, and Abigail Young greatly enhanced my understanding of paleography during a workshop hosted by The Records of Early English Drama and The Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies. Peter W.M. Blayney, David Kathman, and David Mateer kindly checked records on my behalf in London and provided advice on working in the archives. Many archivists and librarians assisted me, especially those at the National Archives in Kew, the London Metropolitan Archives, Guildhall Library in London, the Parliamentary Archives in Westminster, the National Library and Archives of Canada in Ottawa, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, and the Robarts Interlibrary Loan Office at the University of Toronto. I am grateful to these institutions for their permission to reproduce original documentary materials. I also thank Helen Ostovich for permission to reuse material in Chapter Two initially published as “Christopher Beeston and the Caroline Office of Theatrical ‘Governor’” in Early Theatre 11.2 (2008): 39-56. The faculty and staff of the University of Toronto’s Department of English provided essential academic guidance, particularly John D. Baird, Elizabeth D. Harvey, Greig Henderson, Alexander Leggatt, Lynne Magnusson, Cecilia Martino, Heather Murray, Gillian Northgrave, Julian Patrick, Tanuja Persaud, William Robins, and Paul Stevens. Fellow graduate students made the experience all the better, especially Blago Blagoev, Piers Brown, Rob Carson, Chris Chapman, Karin Chun-Taite, Alan Corrigan, Darryl Domingo, Erin Ellerbeck, Christopher Hicklin, John Geary, Alysia Kolentsis, v Katherine Larson, Rory McKeown, Kelly Minerva, Sarah Neville, Jan Purnis, Simon Rogers, Brandy Ryan, Scott Schofield, Virginia Strain, Christopher Trigg, Ira Wells, and Alex Willis. Given the subject of this thesis, I would be remiss not to emphasize the support provided by my wonderful, extended family. For their love and financial help, I thank my grandparents, Lida Matusiak, Maria Lenczewski, and Eleanor and Paul Goyette, my parents, Susan and Marvin Matusiak and Marian and Justin Lenczewski, and my brothers and sisters, David, Andrew, Sarah, Ryan, Nicholas, Sebastian, and Fancy Kim. My oldest friend, Jarrett Carty, pointed me in the right direction all along the way. Above all, I am grateful to wife, Philippa, and our daughter, Geneva, for all of their love, patience, and stress relieving silliness. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgments iv Abbreviations viii INTRODUCTION
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