King Lear

Acting Companies and Theatres in Shakespeare's Day

Mystery Plays - taking the bible to the man on the street (and village green)
Before the mid 1500s, plays were mostly performed outside London, on village greens and in town squares throughout England. At a time when church services were held in Latin, craftsmen's guilds (sometimes called 'Mysteries') enacted for ordinary, illiterate people, stories from both the old and new testaments.

The church permitted the use of plays to make the invisible visible, "to stir man's mind to think on Christ's incarnation, and on his passion, and on his living" - in other words, to tell uneducated people the story of Christ's life. Whilst the subject matter of these 'mystery plays' was serious, they were often made comic, earthy and local:

Noah was a shipwright from the North of England, with a comical, nagging wife

the shepherds of Bethlehem tended sheep on the Yorkshire fells.

London: Theatre Capitol
In Elizabeth's reign, London became the capitol of theatre and plays of a very different nature to the mystery cycles were performed in converted inns like the Bull in Bishopsgate Street, the Red Lion and the Boar's Head in Whitechapel. The inns had permanent stages, tiring rooms and stands for spectators. Later, specially built play houses began to appear, often found in the rougher parts of town. James Burbage, a joiner (craftsman-carpenter) turned actor, built London's first theatre in 1576 in Bishopsgate, just north of the City walls. He called it, simply, the Theatre. In 1587, on Bankside (the south bank of the river Thames), the Rose Theatre was built among prisons, brothels and bear-baiting pits. In 1595, a vast theatre, the Swan, was built nearby. It was said to hold as many as 3,000 people at a single performance.

THE ACTORS

Rogues and Vagabonds
In 16th century England London, plays were put on by groups of professional actors who by law had to have a patron or financial backer. Any travelling player not part of a nobleman's household was classed as a rogue and vagabond and could be severely punished by whipping or even branding. And so actors formed companies named after their patron, for example 'the Earl of Leicester's Men'.

In 1594, Shakespeare joined a new company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, as actor, playwright and shareholder. The Lord Chamberlain's Men enjoyed special royal favour and were often the chosen company to play at court. More than any other company, they had money, status and security in an otherwise rather insecure world. In the early years, the Lord Chamberlain's Men were based at the Theatre.

There were 8 principal shareholders in the Lord Chamberlain's Men until 1608, when the number rose to 12. Each actor's share was proportionate to the amount he had invested in stock such as costumes and props. Shareholders took half the takings from the gallery, the other half going towards the upkeep of the theatre, amongst other costs.

Queen Elizabeth died on 24 March 1603. Her successor was King James VI of Scotland. Plague was raging when James arrived in London and although he was crowned in July 1603, the royal procession through London was postponed until 15 March 1604, when members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men wearing red cloth were part of the celebrations. The new king renamed the company the King's Men.

Other members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men/the King's Men included:

Will Kemp (c.1550-c.1603)
Will Kemp was a great clown who took on the comic roles in Shakespeare's plays. It is thought he played Bottom (in A Midsummer Night's DreamMuch Ado About Nothing) and Falstaff (in both parts of Henry IV and in The Merry Wives of Windsor). Kemp is perhaps now most famous for having danced from London to Norwich in just nine days, a journey he recorded in Nine Daies Wonder (pub. 1600).

Robert Armin (1568-1615)
In 1599, The Lord Chamberlain's Men moved to the South Bank of the Thames and were based at the Globe Theatre. When Will Kemp left the company later that year, he was replaced (in 1600) by Robert Armin. The roles Shakespeare wrote for Armin include:

Feste in Twelfth Night

Autolycus in The Winter's Tale

the Fool in King Lear.

The son of a tailor, Armin was a great mime and mimic, a well-read clown with a sharp wit. It is thought Armin must have had a good singing voice, for many of the roles written for him include songs.

Richard Burbage (c. 1567-1619)
James Burbage, who built London's first playhouse - the Theatre - had two sons who followed him into the profession: Cuthbert and Richard. Richard, highly regarded by his contemporaries, has been called "the greatest actor of his age". It was Burbage who first created many of Shakespeare's greatest roles on stage: Richard III, King Lear, Othello and Hamlet. Burbage was also in the first productions of plays by Ben Jonson (1572-1637), Thomas Kyd (1558-94) and John Webster (c. 1580-1634).

THE THEATRES

The Globe Theatre, which stood on the south bank of the River Thames, was an open-air playhouse that could hold up to 3,000 people at a single performance. Two performances a day were given and it made Shakespeare, a shareholder, a wealthy man. Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, moved from the Theatre to the Globe in 1599. In 1603, under the patronage of King James VI/I, the Lord Chamberlain's Men became the King's Men. From 1608, the King's Men were based at the Blackfriars Theatre (see below) but continued to perform at the Globe in the summer months. The Globe burned down in 1613 when a spark from a cannon fired during a performance of Henry VIII set fire to the thatched roof. The Globe was immediately rebuilt on the original foundations but in 1642, parliament closed all the London theatres and two years later the Globe was destroyed and its foundations buried.

The Blackfriars Theatre was a disused Dominican priory situated in a fashionable residential area inside the City walls, just below Ludgate, near St. Paul's Cathedral. The priory had been confiscated in 1538 when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. Unlike the Globe, the Blackfriars was an intimate, indoor theatre which could be used throughout the year, regardless of weather conditions. Its regular auditorium (roughly 20 metres by 14) could seat somewhere between 500 & 700 spectators. The Globe, in comparison, could hold as many as 3,000. Whilst it could cost as little as a penny to see a play at the Globe, ticket prices at the Blackfriars were high, ranging from sixpence to over two shillings. Those who paid most sat nearest the stage at the Blackfriars - or even on the stage, which was lit with candles and torches. The nature of the plays Shakespeare wrote to be performed at Blackfriars was different to those first performed in large, outdoor theatres. These late plays, once called 'tragi-comedies' are now more often referred to as 'romances'.

Dates of Shakespeare's 'Romances':
1608-09 Pericles
1609-10 Cymbeline
1610-11 The Winter's Tale
1611-12 The Tempest

The romances are different in style to Shakespeare's earlier comedies and seem to have been heavily influenced by court masques (lavish entertainments consisting of song, dance, mime and spectacular sets and costumes) and catered to the tastes of a more sophisticated clientele. For up to an hour before performances, orchestras would entertain audiences and music was given a prominent role within the plays. Whilst love and quartos are key themes in these plays, they focus primarily on the separations and reunions of families and culminate in homecomings, reconciliations, rebirth and redemption. Characteristically the Romances are set in mythical worlds and include elements from myths and fairy tales, such as:

long journeys/sea journeys

shipwrecks

storms

lost or stolen children

magic.


			Before the mid 1500s, plays were mostly performed outside London, on village greens and in town squares throughout England. At a time when church services were held in Latin, craftsmen's guilds (sometimes called 'Mysteries') enacted for ordinary, illiterate people, stories from both the old and new testaments. The church permitted the use of plays to make the invisible visible, "to stir man's mind to think on Christ's incarnation, and on his passion, and on his living" - in other words, to tell uneducated people the story of Christ's life. Whilst the subject matter of these 'mystery plays' was serious, they were often made comic, earthy and local: Noah was a shipwright from the North of England, with a comical, nagging wife the shepherds of Bethlehem tended sheep on the Yorkshire fells. In Elizabeth's reign, London became the capitol of theatre and plays of a very different nature to the mystery cycles were performed in converted inns like the Bull in Bishopsgate Street, the Red Lion and the Boar's Head in Whitechapel. The inns had permanent stages, tiring rooms and stands for spectators. Later, specially built play houses began to appear, often found in the rougher parts of town. James Burbage, a joiner (craftsman-carpenter) turned actor, built London's first theatre in 1576 in Bishopsgate, just north of the City walls. He called it, simply, the Theatre. In 1587, on Bankside (the south bank of the river Thames), the Rose Theatre was built among prisons, brothels and bear-baiting pits. In 1595, a vast theatre, the Swan, was built nearby. It was said to hold as many as 3,000 people at a single performance. In 16th century England London, plays were put on by groups of professional actors who by law had to have a patron or financial backer. Any travelling player not part of a nobleman's household was classed as a rogue and vagabond and could be severely punished by whipping or even branding. And so actors formed companies named after their patron, for example 'the Earl of Leicester's Men'. In 1594, Shakespeare joined a new company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, as actor, playwright and shareholder. The Lord Chamberlain's Men enjoyed special royal favour and were often the chosen company to play at court. More than any other company, they had money, status and security in an otherwise rather insecure world. In the early years, the Lord Chamberlain's Men were based at the Theatre. There were 8 principal shareholders in the Lord Chamberlain's Men until 1608, when the number rose to 12. Each actor's share was proportionate to the amount he had invested in stock such as costumes and props. Shareholders took half the takings from the gallery, the other half going towards the upkeep of the theatre, amongst other costs. Queen Elizabeth died on 24 March 1603. Her successor was King James VI of Scotland. Plague was raging when James arrived in London and although he was crowned in July 1603, the royal procession through London was postponed until 15 March 1604, when members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men wearing red cloth were part of the celebrations. The new king renamed the company the King's Men. Other members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men/the King's Men included: Will Kemp was a great clown who took on the comic roles in Shakespeare's plays. It is thought he played Bottom (in A Midsummer Night's DreamMuch Ado About Nothing) and Falstaff (in both parts of Henry IV and in The Merry Wives of Windsor). Kemp is perhaps now most famous for having danced from London to Norwich in just nine days, a journey he recorded in Nine Daies Wonder (pub. 1600). In 1599, The Lord Chamberlain's Men moved to the South Bank of the Thames and were based at the Globe Theatre. When Will Kemp left the company later that year, he was replaced (in 1600) by Robert Armin. The roles Shakespeare wrote for Armin include: Feste in Twelfth Night Autolycus in The Winter's Tale the Fool in King Lear. The son of a tailor, Armin was a great mime and mimic, a well-read clown with a sharp wit. It is thought Armin must have had a good singing voice, for many of the roles written for him include songs. James Burbage, who built London's first playhouse - the Theatre - had two sons who followed him into the profession: Cuthbert and Richard. Richard, highly regarded by his contemporaries, has been called "the greatest actor of his age". It was Burbage who first created many of Shakespeare's greatest roles on stage: Richard III, King Lear, Othello and Hamlet. Burbage was also in the first productions of plays by Ben Jonson (1572-1637), Thomas Kyd (1558-94) and John Webster (c. 1580-1634). The Globe Theatre, which stood on the south bank of the River Thames, was an open-air playhouse that could hold up to 3,000 people at a single performance. Two performances a day were given and it made Shakespeare, a shareholder, a wealthy man. Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, moved from the Theatre to the Globe in 1599. In 1603, under the patronage of King James VI/I, the Lord Chamberlain's Men became the King's Men. From 1608, the King's Men were based at the Blackfriars Theatre (see below) but continued to perform at the Globe in the summer months. The Globe burned down in 1613 when a spark from a cannon fired during a performance of Henry VIII set fire to the thatched roof. The Globe was immediately rebuilt on the original foundations but in 1642, parliament closed all the London theatres and two years later the Globe was destroyed and its foundations buried. The Blackfriars Theatre was a disused Dominican priory situated in a fashionable residential area inside the City walls, just below Ludgate, near St. Paul's Cathedral. The priory had been confiscated in 1538 when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. Unlike the Globe, the Blackfriars was an intimate, indoor theatre which could be used throughout the year, regardless of weather conditions. Its regular auditorium (roughly 20 metres by 14) could seat somewhere between 500 & 700 spectators. The Globe, in comparison, could hold as many as 3,000. Whilst it could cost as little as a penny to see a play at the Globe, ticket prices at the Blackfriars were high, ranging from sixpence to over two shillings. Those who paid most sat nearest the stage at the Blackfriars - or even on the stage, which was lit with candles and torches. The nature of the plays Shakespeare wrote to be performed at Blackfriars was different to those first performed in large, outdoor theatres. These late plays, once called 'tragi-comedies' are now more often referred to as 'romances'. Dates of Shakespeare's 'Romances': 1608-09 Pericles 1609-10 Cymbeline 1610-11 The Winter's Tale 1611-12 The Tempest The romances are different in style to Shakespeare's earlier comedies and seem to have been heavily influenced by court masques (lavish entertainments consisting of song, dance, mime and spectacular sets and costumes) and catered to the tastes of a more sophisticated clientele. For up to an hour before performances, orchestras would entertain audiences and music was given a prominent role within the plays. Whilst love and quartos are key themes in these plays, they focus primarily on the separations and reunions of families and culminate in homecomings, reconciliations, rebirth and redemption. Characteristically the Romances are set in mythical worlds and include elements from myths and fairy tales, such as: long journeys/sea journeys shipwrecks storms lost or stolen children magic.