Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre: An Introduction

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Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre An Introduction
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A few dates

• 1576 Building of the first public theatre, known
  as The Theatre, by James Burbage and John
  Braynes, north of the river and outside the city
  walls. Used by most of the major companies.
• Master of the Revels
• 1587 Building of The Rose by Henslowe
• 1595 Building of the Swan, south of the river on
  Bankside. Described and sketched in 1596 by a
  visiting Dutchman, Johannes de Witt. See the
  illustration.

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Map of theatres
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De Witts Sketch
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A few dates (2)

• 1598-9 Dismantling of the Theatre to be rebuilt
  south of the river on Bankside as the first Globe
  Theatre (by Richard and Cuthbert Burbage).
  Similar in structure to the Swan. This was the
  theatre owned and used by Shakespeare's company,
  the Lord Chamberlain's Men (after 1603 the King's
  Men). It was destroyed by fire in 1613 and
  rebuilt in 1614 as the second Globe, demolished
  in 1644
• 1608 Acquisition by Shakespeare's company of the
  second Blackfriars Theatre, the most important
  private theatre of the period, indoors and
  situated on the north bank of the Thames.
• 1642 Closing of the theatres with the onset of
  the English Revolution or Civil War

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The Globe (1)

• 1564  Shakespeare born in Stratford-Upon-Avon
• 1576 James Burbage builds the the first public
  playhouse in London the Theatre in Shoreditch.
  The Lord Chamberlain's Men use it from 1594 to
  1596.  
• 1598-9 The first Globe Playhouse was built and
  opened, using timber from the Theatre. First
  performance probably 21 June 1599.

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The Globe (2)

• 21 September 1599 first recorded performance of
  a play at the Globe (Julius Caesar), by a Swiss
  visitor, Thomas Platter. Henry V and As You Like
  It probably also performed that year. Platter
  also gives a careful record of ticket prices and
  seating arrangements.
• 1613 The Globe burns down accidentally during a
  performance of Henry VIII. Rebuilt immediately on
  original foundations.This time the roof is tiled,
  not thatched. Shakespeare retires to Stratford.
• 1616 Shakespeare dies.
• 1642 The Globe is closed by the Puritans, as are
  all playhouses in London.

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Summary (Bankside)

• 1550-1642 There were four theatres on Bankside -
  the Globe, the Rose, the Hope, the Swan and also
  several Bear-baiting and Bull-baiting
  amphitheatres. Over 15 venues were available in
  London to hear a play. 

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John Norden's panorama Civitas Londini 1600
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Wenceslaus Hollar's Long View of London 1647
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Hollars Globe
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London in 1616 by Claes van Visscher
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Detail
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De Witts Sketch
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Title page of Roxana by William Alabaster (1632)
(Indoor theatre?)
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Modern Reconstruction of the Globe
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Observations (Open-air theatre)

• Raised stage / yard where groundlings stood
  seats in galleries around more expensive, perhaps
  also some on stage rooms at rear for actors'
  entrances and exits, for machinery, musicians.
  Typical public theatre 1590s to 1640 (known as
  Elizabethan, Jacobean, Caroline). No roof, no
  artificial lighting but props, elaborate
  costumes. Could take 3000 people, probably
  ranging across courtiers, wits, gentry,
  pickpockets, merchants, artisans, prostitutes,
  soldiers. Outside City walls to escape
  jurisdiction of hostile authorities, so on south
  bank of Thames. Often closed in times of plague,
  political crisis, most notably in 1642.

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Reconstruction indoor theatre (Blackfriars)
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Observations on indoor theatres

• Blackfriars Theatre, north of river, under
  jurisdiction of city fathers, with some court
  protection. Bought by Shakespeare's company
  1608. Indoors, artificial lighting, 500-600
  capacity. Tickets from one shilling. Elaborate
  machinery, including flying gear. Stage still
  part of auditorium, but audience mostly have
  straight-on view, rather than sitting in the
  round. Different dynamic actors/audience Sh's
  last plays, much use of spectacle and masque-like
  elements. From 1608, Shakespeare therefore
  writing for 2 very different playing spaces, and
  some plays (probably e.g. Macbeth, The Tempest)
  adapted to be performed in both. Versatility of
  both writer and actors.

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Acting companies of Elizabethan/Jacobean period

• Shakespeares company known as Lord Chamberlains
  Men or, after 1603, King's Men. Protection. Men
  no women on public stage until 1660, their parts
  being played by 'boys. A joint stock company
  core of shareholders with stake in theatre(s)
  they owned, plays they owned, props, costumes,
  their own acting skills. Shakespeare a writer,
  actor, and also a capitalist, part-owner of the
  company. No director instead, a team, perhaps
  with internal tensions and rows, some more
  powerful than others. But the shareholders did
  own their resources they had between them quite
  a lot of control. This produces very rich and
  varied drama, lots of experimentation.

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Gurr, The Elizabethan Stage and Acting

• Acting (action and playing)
• Casual entertainment (player and shareholder) vs
  instructive mirror for life (playwrights)
• Shakespeare on both sides
• Money and theatre
• Play scripts as raw material for the stage.

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Gurr (2)

• Repertory system (a different play every
  afternoon of the working week little scope for
  the finer point of staging).
• Speed of delivery
• Novelty (p. 249) never before such a direct
  contact with the audience.
• Personation (Marston, 1599).
• Realism?

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William Kempe 
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Robert Armin
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Edward Alleyn as Tamburlaine
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Rival companies / rival actors

• This illustration of the character of Tamburlaine
  is actually the actor Edward Alleyn who was most
  famous for his performances of Marlowe's play.
  His only rival in fame was Richard Burbage
  (Hamlet). Alleyn was the star of the Rose
  theatre. He married Philip Henslowe's daughter in
  1592 and became his father in law's partner,
  first at the Rose, then at the Fortune (1600). He
  became so prosperous that he was able to found
  Dulwich College, which now houses precious art
  collections, but also Henslowe's diary, an
  essential document for our knowledge of Early
  Modern stage practice.

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New Globe (stage)
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New Globe
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The yard and groundlings