Description
Book SynopsisShakespeare's Theatre: A History examines the theatre spaces used by William Shakespeare, and explores these spaces in relation to the social and political framework of the Elizabethan era. The text journeys from the performing spaces of the provincial inns, guild halls and houses of the gentry of the Bard's early career, to the purpose-built outdoor playhouses of London, including the Globe, the Theatre, and the Curtain, and the royal courts of Elizabeth and James I. The author also discusses the players for whom Shakespeare wrote, and the positioningor dispositioningof audience members in relation to the stage.
Widely and deeply researched, this fascinating volume is the first to draw on the most recent archaeological work on the remains of the Rose and the Globe, as well as continuing publications from the Records of Early English Drama project. The book also explores the contentious view that the plot' of The Seven Deadly Sins (part II), provides unprecedent
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations x
List of Boxes xi
Preface xii
Introduction 1
Palamon and Arcite was Performed with the Queen Herself Present on the Stage 1
The Upstart Crow 7
Notes 17
1 The Early Years 19
Stratford and Staging Practices 19
Princely Pleasures at Kenilworth 25
Mystery Cycles and Trade Guilds 27
Competing Authorities 28
Straws in the Wind 29
A System of Protection and Control 33
Roads Not Taken 34
Notes 36
2 Possible Beginnings 38
Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men’s Theory 39
Tarlton 44
Shakespeare and Alexander Hoghton’s Will 50
Strange’s Men 60
Notes 71
3 Shakespeare on the Record and the Stages of 1594: Newington Butts, the Theatre, Greenwich Palace, and Gray’s Inn 75
Plague 75
Duopoly 77
Shakespeare in the Records 81
Four Playing Places 82
The Theatre 83
Burbage 102
Kemp 103
Motley 105
The Cross Keys Inn 114
Greenwich Palace 117
Gray’s Inn 130
Notes 136
4 The Chamberlain’s / King’s Men and their Organization 140
Sharers 140
Hired Men (and Women) 156
Hired Men as Actors 157
Gatherers 159
Tirewomen 167
Tiremen 169
Musicians 174
Book]keepers 177
Stage]keepers 180
Apprentices 182
Conclusions 188
Notes 188
5 A Stormy Passage, from the Theatre, via the Curtain, to the Globe 193
2 The Seven Deadly Sins 205
The Stories 209
Commentary 213
The Text 213
Authorship and Dating of the Play(s) 213
Those Playhouses … Shall be Plucked Down” 221
Notes 227
6 “The Great Globe Itself” 230
The Galleries 232
Lords’ Rooms 234
Stage Directions 242
Playhouse of the Spoken Word 257
Robert Armin 264
The War of the Theatres 271
Notes 274
7 A New Reign 277
A Royal Master 279
Little Eyases and The Malcontent 281
Notes 288
8 The Blackfriars 290
Your Master’s Worship House, here, in the Friars” 299
The New Repertoire 303
Descent Machinery 305
Jonson and Shakespeare in the New House 309
Notes 319
Appendix: Chamberlain’s/King’s Men’s Plays 1594–1614, Other than by Shakespeare 322
Extant Texts, with Dates of Performance and Publication, and Probable Playhouse of First Performance 322
Anon 323
Non]Extant or Unidentified Plays Associated with the Company 324
Bibliography 325
Primary Material from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 325
Secondary Material 329
Index 341
