Shakespeare The History of the Theater PERFORMANCE HISTORY • 1550 London aldermen ban “common players” (i.e. without a patron) from playing in the city without a license
• 1572 “Act for the punishment of Vagabondes” - players had to be licensed by two magistrates; authorized by great nobles (under a further clause of 1598) o as a result…1572 James Burbage wrote to Leicester for patronage • James Burbage - both an actor and a joiner James and Ellen Brayne were the parents of Cuthbert (b. 1566) and Richard (b. 1568)
• Burbage part of Leicester’s Men, 1572-76 Leicester’s Men had been around, mainly in the provinces, since 1559 (known as Dudley’s til 1564)
• 1574 Elizabeth gave Leicester’s Men a royal patent (first ever) this allowed them to play anywhere in England, even in the city. o They became the most important company from 1574-1583; o Company came to an end in 1588, possibly merging with Strange’s company
• 1576 Chapel Children move into the 1st Blackfriars o Other boys’ company at Paul’s (boys faded after 1609)
• Early 1580s: Leicester’s Men, Sussex’s, Warwick’s, Essex’s, Oxford’s all played in London when they could
• 1583-88 Queen’s Men – picked mainly from Leicester’s Men - (including Tarlton) took over from Leicester’s as the predominant company (Worcester’s their closest rivals)
• Queen’s Men licensed in 1583 to play at the Bull Inn and the Bell Inn d o Played 21 times at court, 1583-90, but soon suffered from the competition of first the Admiral’s Men, then the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
• 1590 Admiral’s Men amalgamate with Strange’s at the Theatre, o Moved to the Rose under Philip Henslowe in 1592 o The Admiral’s Men had Edward Alleyn (from Worcester’s Men)
• 1594 last major reshuffle produces the Chamberlain’s Men and the Admiral’s Men as the two main London companies (Queen’s Men forced to tour the provinces) o The Chamberlin’s Men had Richard Burbage, Cuthbert B, Kempe, Hemming, Condell, Pope, Phillips… & William Shakespeare
• 1598 Privy Council decree limits the companies in London to two: the Admirals & the Lord Chamberlain’s (Worcester’s added as a 3rd company in 1602)
• 1603 King James a theatre-lover… o Worcester’s > Queen Anne’s o Admiral’s > Prince Henry’s o Chamberlain’s > King’s Men
• 1596: eight sharers in Chamberlain’s Men (twelve by 1603 as King’s men) 1599: seven sharers become ‘housekeepers’ in the new Globe: Burbage, Cuthbert, Shakespeare, Hemming, Kempe, Phillips, Pope
• Playwrights’ pay: Henslowe paid Dekker £30 in 1598 for his share in writing 16 plays he paid £5 to purchase a play outright
• Playhouse takings and costs Admiral’s gallery takings were ave £20/wk in 1597 ie c.£1000 for the year
• To rebuild the Globe in 1614 cost £1400 o A single performance in court brought in £10
• The repertory system Admiral’s played through 6 days/wk for 49 wks (pausing only for the 37 days of Lent) o In 94-95 they performed 38 plays, of which 21 were new to their repertory (two of the new plays were performed only once; only eight survived to the following season) o 95-96: 37 plays of which 9 were new o 96-97: 34 plays, 14 new o The most popular play in those three seasons – The Wise Men of Westchester – performed 32 times (less than once a month)
THE PLAYHOUSES • 1550s & 1560s – scaffolding structures & inns (like the Bel Savage & the Boar’s Head)
• The Queen’s Men alternated between the Bel Savage in summer (open) & the Bell in winter (roofed)
• 1567 James Burbage’s bro-in-law John Brayne: Red Lion (scaffolding structure in Stepney); but unsuccessful
• 1576 first durable playhouse - The Theatre – James Burbage (21 yr lease) in Shoreditch (outside juris’n of City Fathers) o 1577 The Curtain o 1587 The Rose (Henslowe) demolished 1606 partially excavated 1989
• 1594 Privy Council ban on performing in city inns
• 1595 The Swan
HISTORY of the playhouses in London – from 1595 • 1596 James Burbage buys upper floors of the Blackfriars – but faces opposition: leases it out to boys
• 1597 Feb – James Burbage died
• April – Blackfriars lease expires
• Next two years – the company rents other playhouses
• December 1598: Moving the Theatre timbers at night, across the river
• 1599 (mid?) The Globe opens in Southwark…
THE GLOBE • Capacity 3000 (same as the Swan) o 20 sides o 100 ft diameter (yard: 80 ft) o stage c.45 ft wide x 30 ft deep
• 1600 Henslowe builds the Fortune open-air, but square (for Worcester’s, jointly with Oxford’s, permitted to be the 3rd London company)
INDOOR (HALL) THEATRES • 1608 The Blackfriars (bought in 1596) finally taken over by the King’s Men o capacity 600 max o 6 entrances to galleries o … a further space for a bench in the pit… o …2s in total for a stool on the stage
• A reversal of the outdoor playhouses, where the closest people paid least
• Puritans attacks in the early 1580s o 1583 Paris Garden
PLAGUE • Playhouses could not re-open until the weekly bill of plague victims had been under 50 for 3 weeks • Prolonged closures in 81-82, 92-93, 03-04, 08-09, 09-10, 25, 30, 36-37, 40 and 41 • 1581 Master of the Revels is given powers over plays, including censorship and licensing of playhouses o Sir Edmund Tilney: Master of Revels, 579-1610
POLITICS • 1601 Essex rebellion & Richard II for 40s [JO’C PLAY exonerated - performed for Queen the night before Essex’s execution]
• Act to Restrain Abuses 1606 – censorship of profane oaths
• 1615 Henslowe died. o …1616 Shakespeare died. o …1619 RB died
• The 1642 ban