OCR Text |
Show mwimmi urn heaths F By PROFESSOR B. ROLAND LEWIS, Department of English, University of Utah, Familiar as modern theatergoers are with present-day stage matters, few patrons of modern histrionic art are fully aware of ! the vast difference between the twentieth century playhouse andj that of Shakespeare. Yet it was for the sixteenth century stage, i with all curious lack of modern scenery and properties, that Shake-; tipeare wrote his thirty-seven plays. It is obvious, then, that one j Lilioul have acquaintance with the Elizabethan stage in order that! one fully appreciate Shakespeare's dramaturgy. ! ""1 '"' 'hz.'ihfthau theater was the product of sume livo centuries of I prowtb. It is well known that the OEirik'-t, Dullish drama, the early liturii-al plays, tli'i miracle plays and tlii! moralities, wore performed inside the cluuvli, with tho platt orm upon which the altar stood fur a stnro. The roiir wrtll of the ehnn-li, at the back ol" tho platform, served as a nort of background, back-ground, and tho doors on eitlier side of tho altar nerved as a way for exits and en tvaneeb. Thin whs a rude form of slnu at lis best, but it contaiued some of the fundamental elements of the later Elizabethan at age-plat f orm. When, during the thirteenth and fourteenth four-teenth centuries, the plays were taken outside of tho church, the same general platform, " back-curtain " effect and .vide doors in tho rear were again used. On a temporary elovatcd wooden platform, plat-form, at some street corner or cross- , roads, the rear of which was curtained off for n dressing room, many an early dramatic performance took place. The1 lower left nketch in tho illustrations ia a fair representation of Kiich a stage. Oho should note that there aro no properties, prop-erties, that tho stage construction and arrangement is rude, and that tho orchestra or-chestra is upon the stago proper. With t ho gradual evolution of the special actor and of wandering troupes, tli.'iv also developed tho need of port-aide port-aide properties and an urgent need of available funds wherewith to support tho strolling players. Accordingly, in due time, the strolling plnyors mado arrangements ar-rangements with tho keepers of the many English inn yards iu which to conduct their dramatic performances. The old English inn yards wero usually ere I-ted about a reef angular enclosure or courtyard ; the inns themselves " usually us-ually consisted of several stories, to the rear of each one of which, and facing the courtyard below, was a balcony from which the occupants and guests of the inn could witness any activity within with-in tho enclosure. Theso structures, indeed, in-deed, served as an ideal place for any kind of dramatic entertainment. Tho bargain made with the landlord, the strolling players drew their stage, which was often rolled from place to place on wheelR, into one end of the courtyard, while ono of their number collected entrance fees from those who followed in at the gate, and another went up into the balconies and surrounding sur-rounding galleries and collected from those who came out there to witness "tho performance. This combination of surrounding balconies, stage, players, public, and primitive business organization organiza-tion was tho beginning of a period of significant theatrical development. In fact, this combination had practically all the important features fuuud in the later Elizabethan theaters. (See the jketch of a typical Eli .a be than stage and of the Globe theater among the illustrations.) The Shakespearean Theaters Resembled Re-sembled Huge Flat Inverted In-verted Tubs. Practically all London theaters from J G7fi to H!2o, except the Fortune and the Blaekfriars (see map of London among the illustrations) , which were rectangular, were round or octagonal in hhape. As one viewed them from the outside, they resembled huge squatty tubs turned upside down, with a large circular hole sawed out of tho "top." a door for entry appeared near the ground and up along the outside could be seen two or three rows of holes cut into the side of the structure to give light and air to the galleries on the inside. in-side. A property loft (see ' ' A " in cross section of an Elizabethan stage) projected above the roof; a flag floated to tjic breeze to indicate that a performance per-formance would take place in the afternoon. Inside of Theaters Patterned After Interior of Old Inn-yards. As one stepped into the in closure he saw the whole was open to the air except ex-cept that the galleries had a roof which somewhat resembled a projecting fringe around the top of the structure. Directly Di-rectly before him and extending half way into the pit was a long stage-platform. To tho rear and on either side of the platform were two doors which served as places for exits and entrances. en-trances. Between the two doors, and back under the second balcony, was the rear stage, where interior scenes of a play wero produced. (See tho sketch of a typical Elizabethan stage and of a cross section of an Elizabethan stage.) Directly above the lower rear stage was a smaller room, Known as the balcony bal-cony (see sketches), ft was from such a place as this that the balcony scenes in ' 1 Romeo and Juliet ' 1 were performed. per-formed. Both balcony and rear stage wero curtained off when not in use. Over a part of the stage platform, and supported ly two tall posts, was a roof, which, in part, protected the players from sun and rain," and from which stage machinery was often lowered (see sketches). The pit, which was usually the bare ground and without seats, was the place where the groundlings stood while they witnessed the performance. Around the circular inclosure were the galleries, usually three, on which wooden benches "WW ra?', .TORsf0 cS'TsV- L":''-i p rp)i '$t': f fTl S r-xrtT: n r-1 ymmfh W-rr.- (f LLJ 1 : MZJt -- mmXm . ;.A T'P!CAL ELIZABETHAN 5TA&C g-T 0PE &lD0-15" v " CROSS-SECTION Of fUZASETflrjN 5TA&E A TYp'lCL EAR TE BLACKTR1ARS at E ' ' ' ' were jilaeed for tho accommodation of the better class of patrons. All in all, tho typical Elizabethan theater had all the characteristic elements found in the old English inn yards. Great Dramatic Activity Obtained Ob-tained in England Before Any Theater Was Erected for Public Use. Before the erection of the first playhouse play-house in London, at the beginning of the last quarter of the sixteenth century, cen-tury, all kinds of dramatic performances perform-ances were held in all manner of places. Old miracle and morality plays were still performed, at opportune times, in the churches, after tho regular ritualistic ritual-istic services. The old Komau amphitheaters amphi-theaters at Rochester, Branbury and especially es-pecially the one at Cornwall, wcre used for religious plays as well as for wrestling, wrest-ling, dancing, fencing, etc. Morris dances, May-day games, and all sorts of other rustic entertainments were followed fol-lowed by all classes of both sexes. Acrobats, Acro-bats, ballad singers, rope-walkers, minstrels, min-strels, filled the highways and the inu yards where-plays of various kinds were performed. Bull-baiting and bear-baiting, bear-baiting, on the south side of the Thames in London, were gleefully witnessed by both men and women. Despite the great variety of dramatic activity and amusement, so far as is known, there was no public playhouse in London prior to 1576. James Burbage Erected First Theater in 1576. James Burbage, who was the most successful theatrical manager in Shakespeare Shake-speare 's day, and who operated The Theater, Curtain, Blaekfriars and the Globe theaters (See map of London in the illustrations), was the first man to j see the financial advantage in erecting a public playhouse where all sorts of j histrionic endeavor might be staged, j The moment his purpose become known i he met with opposition. When he set about to find a suitable place on which : to erect such a building, lie found that! the lord mayor of London would not per- ! mit him to "placj; it within the wall stir-! rounding the city. Accordingly he was , compeilnd to erect it in Shoredltch, near j the Bedlam insane asylum, outside the city and north along Bishop's street, j (See map.) i Here, in lo76, at a cost of 666 ($25,- i 000 in modern money, as money val- 1 nes in comparison with those of today were in the ratio of one to eight), Bur- I bage built the first playhouse in London Lon-don and called it The' Theater, The structure was wholly of wood, round in shape, open to the air, and had a thatched roof over the circular galleries; i in fact, it was modeled on the interior' arrangement of the old English inu yards and was little more than a convenient con-venient place in which to collect entrance en-trance fees. A tiring house (dressing room) was attached to the rear; there were wooden benches in the galleries; the pit was the bare ground; and the stage was temporary ami removable, so that the pit was available lor plays, baiting and other amusements. From the point of view of histrionic art in Shakespeare's day. The Theater is highly important. Here such significant signifi-cant plays as -'Caesar and Pompey," an old '"Hamlet,'-' and Christopher Marlowe's "Dr. Kaustus." all of which were made use of by Shakespeare, were first staged. It was in this playhouse that sm'h famous Elizabethan comedians as Tarleton and Kemp learned their art of dancing jigs and punning on words in such a way as to provoke response and support from the public a thiug so essential to histrionic arr. if any credence cre-dence at all is to be given to the tradition tra-dition that Shakespeare began his career ca-reer in London by holding horses of the i gentlemen who came to attend the theater, the-ater, it was, in all probability, at The Theater that he did so. Despite the popularity of this playhouse, play-house, it was constantly a source of attack at-tack by the church authorities, and es-peeiallv es-peeiallv by the lord mayor of London, who was supposed to represent the religious re-ligious interests of the city. Iu 1576 the noted John Xorthbrooke published his "'Treatise Against Dancing, Dicing. Piavp and Interludes and Other Tdle Plavs. ' a celebrated document in theatrical the-atrical literature, which represents the theater as a veritable hell-mouth belch-ins belch-ins forh flame, smoke and fumes of . burned bodies. Since The Theater was 1 he onlv playhouse in London at that : date, obviously the attack was against that institution. Moreover. Burbage ; lease of land from Ciles Alleu in 1576 was for a period of twenty-uiie years. Accordingly, when the lease expired in I ."f'S. Burbage -wi-hed to renew- it. Thereupon Allen, at the Mipposed in-ti gation of the lord mayor, tried to raise the rental a procedure which provoked considerable litigation. Taking advantage advan-tage of it clause in the contract, Burbage Bur-bage and his brother Cuthbert, under cover of night, demolished The Theater and, with twenty ox teams, carried the materials across London bridge and erected the Globe, in 1599, near the old bull-baiting garden in Banksidc. (See map.) Burbage Also Erected Curtain Theater Probably to Spite Corporation of London. The theater did not long stand alone. James Burbage was too keen a man not to make the most of the advertising lie received at the hands of the opposition. In 1577, after Northbrooke 's attack, he promptly built tho Curtain theater very near The theater (see map) so close, in fact, that the two aro frequently mentioned together. It was called the Curtain theater because of the name of the land upon which it stood, a name which identifies the place to this day. While it was considerably smaller than The theater, it was quite like it in general construction and purpose. In 1601 a very determined attempt was made to compel Burbago to demolish i it, but it weathered the storm and was not torn down until during the civil war of 1642-45. It stood the longest of the earlier Elizabethan playhouses. Here Shakespeare 's ' ' Iiomeo and Juliet" first saw the light, and Ben Jonson 's "Everyman in His Humor" was given its initial hearing. Here, too, were held man' fencing matches and sword plays, and here Tarlcton and Robert Armin, Elizabethan comedians, made their debuts. Armin later created cre-ated the role of the important grave-digger grave-digger in "Hamlet," which was first performed at the Globe. It was near this theater that the trainiug fields for ' the military force were located. In 1599, when Essex and Southampton 's : expedition set out against Ireland, it j was from near the Curtain theater that it started. Taking advantage of the condition, Shakespeare staged his ( ' Henry Y' ' here, rather than at the Globe, a far more elegant playhouse on the Bankside (sec map). Shakespeare's First Significant Work Was at Newington Butts and at the Rose Theater The-ater in Bankside. Shakespeare "mav have held the horses of the gallants'' at The theater, as romantic persons arc wont to assert, but his first significant theatrical connections con-nections in Loudon were on the south side of the Thames at Newington Butts and at the liose theater (see map), both of which were in their prime in 1592-4. Just what Newington Butts was or where it was located is a crux to modern mod-ern scholars. It seems to have been a stage in a private house some distance southeast from London bridge. Late, i investigators place it on the. site where ! the lare Dr. Charles Spurgeon erected his Metropolitan tabernacle, i Newington Butts, as well as the Rose i theater, was under the management of Philip Heuslowe and his son-in-law, Edward Ed-ward Alleyu, who was one of the best actors of the day. In 1592. the privy council ordered Lord Strange 's men (Shakespeare was a member of this 1 troupe ) to play at Newington .Butts, i rather than at the Rose, because of the plague which was then making havoc in the city. Philip Hcmdowe, the manager man-ager of these two playhouses, was the keenest theatrical rival to tho famous Burbage, with whom Shakespeare be-i be-i came associated a little later. The Rose Theater Was Significant Signifi-cant in Shakespeare's Early Career. YVhile the Rose theater (see sketch of it among the illustrations) was never nev-er so conspicuous or so successful as some of the other playhouses, it is conspicuous con-spicuous and important to one who studies the development of Shakespeare as a dramatist. Here the Bard of Avon wrote "Venus- and Adonis." ami here "The Taming of the Shrew" was first presented. Flere, too, he is thought to have made his first drafts of "Titus Andronieus, " " Hamlet, ' ' and " King Lear. -' ' Philip Jicnsluwe, a man almost as far-sighted far-sighted Burbage. had planned to erect the Rose as early as 1587 to offset off-set The theater ('15761 in Shored itch ; but for some unknown rea.-ons. probablv j financial one5, he wa unable to du so before 3-9l'. The Roe, then, was ; the first reguur theater erected in : Sou thwn rk . The ei-rK-r:1 i desi an f sr sketch of it among the 1 1 1 u i-1 rat ion?) was similar to that of tho other early theaters; it was round, rather low and squatty, had a thatched roof over the galleries and had a flagpole in the center. cen-ter. On the whole, the Rose enjoyed liberal lib-eral patronage until 159S, when Burbage Bur-bage "erected the Globe on Bankside; and after 1603 it was used largely lor prizefighting. Lord Strange 's men, of which "Shakespeare was a member, left the Rose in 1594 and transferred to tho north side of the citv and took quarters quar-ters in the Curtain theater, where Shakespeare began his long association with James Burbage, the father of the famous actor, Richard Burbage. It was while Heuslowe was at Rose that he kept parts of his liary, which is nowadays so valuable a source of original material to every student of Elizabethan dramatic conditions. Here it must have been that Shakespeare did most of his earlv work; in all probability proba-bility "Love's 'Labor Lost," "The Comedy of Errors," "The Two Gedtle-men Gedtle-men of Verona" and "Henry VI" were written at the Rose. The Swan Was the Unfortunate Elizabethan Playhouse. At the outset the Swan theater was unfortunate in its location (see map). When the butchers, during the reign of Richard II, were compelled to dump their offal outside the city, a low, swampy, isolated spot on the bankside was set aside for this purpose. On this out-of-the way place the refuse from the butcher shops was thrown, the foul odors arising therefrom, combined with the presence of stray dogs and half-tamed half-tamed bears which came there to feed, made the place altogether unwholesome. Moreover, as early as 1583, while bear-baiting bear-baiting was in progress at this spot, a scaffolding fell and killed eight persons per-sons outright -an accident which provoked pro-voked violent attacks against all kinds of amusements and which provoked subsequent sub-sequent opposition to the place itself. Yet it was upon this very spot that Francis Laugley erected the Swan theater. the-ater. Unfortunately, too, for the Swan, Langley was not so capable a manager as was either Henslowe or Burbage. The Swan theater was somewhat larger than the other playhouses of the day, but in general design it was similar. sim-ilar. It, too, was open to the air, and also had a removable stage eo that the enclosure could be used for bull-baiting and bear-baiting. Ben Jonson played here, and Middleton 's " Chaste Maid of Cheapside " was first presented in this place. The well-known design of the Swan stage, sketched by De Witt and found in the library of' the University of Utrecht in 18S8, whilo very interesting, inter-esting, is none the less unreliable. The Blaekfriars Was Shakespeare's Shake-speare's Winter Theater. It has been noted that the lord mayor of Loudon had jurisdiction over that part of the city which lay within the wall, yet there were a few places, notably not-ably St. Paul's cathedral and Blaekfriars Blaek-friars priory (see map), which enjoyed certain liberties and which were not under the direct control of the mayor. Since there was no theater within the wall, and since the monkish order of the Blaekfriars was willing to give over parts of its property, the keen and shrewd Burbaue took advantage of the situation and secured one of the buildings- of the priory and modeled it into a theater in 159b'. Erom 159b' this theater was used by the. Children of the Royal Chapel, whose histrionic powers were noteworthy iu their dev. The period pe-riod from K50S"to 1325, at "the Blaekfriars, Blaek-friars, saw the performance of some of the very best of Shakespeare's mature work. Likewise Webster's "The Butch-ess Butch-ess of Mnlfi" and Beaumont and Fletcher's Fletch-er's "Philaster" were performed in this historic theater. Despite the radical opposition of the populace especially the immediate neighbors to the Blaekfriars priory and the lord mayor, the Blaekfriars theater, the-ater, under the effective management of Burbage, became one of the most popular pop-ular playhouses in London. Moreover, it was for this theater that Shakespeare wmte most nf his later work. This pomtlar theater was, in many re--peels, radically different from the other playhouses of the day (see sketch of it among- the illustrations). Tt was in a sense a private theater; it was more elite in its patronage, and its accommodations accom-modations were somewhat superior. It was rectangular in shane rather than round, as were the others before it: it was roofed in rather than open tn the air; and higher ririces were chprged for admit tan ee. Moreover, the performance? perform-ance? were niven be candle Hlit: stool-'ere stool-'ere ued in the naileries rather than bene V-c, arjd. nil in all. it ra-s ome-1 ome-1 thine: of a e-elc-t playhouse, Jt is note worthy that this well-appointed theater was Shakespeare's winter home. The Globe, on the Bankside, Was Shakespeare's Summer Theater. It has .been noted that the shrewd Burbage was a very wide-awake theatrical the-atrical manager. His demolishing The Theater in 1;j98 and transporting it to Southwark in 1599 had a far-reaching effect in the dramatic world of the day. In the first place, such a move, on" the part of Burbage, gave him a hold on the theatrical patronage in three of the most desirable parts of tho city: on the north side, in Shoreditch, he managed the Curtain: within the wall he operated the Blaekfriars, and now, on the Bankside, he erected the Globe. In addition, Philip Henslowe, who had built the Rose in 1592, and who had been very active in Southwark, abandoned aban-doned his work there, when Burbage erected the Globe in 1599, and went over to the north side beyond Cripplegate, where, in 1001, he built the Fortune. The first Globe theater (see sketch) was very popular from the outset, but its career was cut short by fire in 1613. It, too, was circular in shape; had a thatched roof over the galleries; was not so large as the other playhouses in Bankside, and seems to have had somewhat some-what superior accommodations. It was erected near the site of the old bull-baiting bull-baiting garden, and hence, by position, was inviting as far as amusements were concerned. The fire which cut short the career of the first Globe was the result of a discharge of ordnance during a performance per-formance of "Henry Yin" in 1613. The thatched roof took fire and within two hours the whole structure was in ftfshes. When the second Globe was put Up ail(i it was erected at once the roof was made of tile, as was the roof of every theater which was erected thereafter. The Puritans razed the second sec-ond Globe in 1644. The Globe theater is important to students stu-dents of Shakespeare from four points of view: (1) Scholars are wont to believe be-lieve that m the burning of the Globe in 1613 all of Shakespeare's manuscripts manu-scripts were lost to an interested and admiring posterity; (2) Burbage Js erection of this theater caused a complete com-plete shift in the theatrical activity of the day: (3) the burning of the Globe in 1613 instituted tile roofing and other designs tending toward more fireproof buildings: (4) just as the Blaekfriars was Shakespeare 's winter theater, so the Globe was the one he used in summer. sum-mer. The Fortune and the Hope Were Two of Henslowe's Playhouses. Play-houses. The circumstances under which the Fortune was erected have already been stated. Obviously its erection was the result of the competition between Henslowe Hens-lowe and Burbage. According to DeWitt, the Fortune was square rather than round. Its capacity was reckoned at 3000, but these figures fig-ures are not to be trusted, because various vari-ous scholars have estimated the capacity of Elizabethan theaters from 400 to 12.000. Fortunately, however, the -original contract of the Fortune is extant, and from it one is able to know something of its construction. Some of the provisions pro-visions were: "The frame of the said house to be :-ett square, and to conteino fowerscorc footu asii'.e every waio square, without , and fiftie five footo iisi:e square, every waie within ; tho aid frame to eonteine three stories in height."- Aud, "with such like stearcs conveyances and divisions without and within, as are made and contryved iu and to the late-erected playhouse called the Globe; with a stage. Stage shall eonteine iu length fortie and three foote of lawful assize, and in breadth to extende to the middle of tho yard." The cost was to have been "fower hun dred and fortio poundes " or approii- J mat ely 17,000 in modern money. A tg study' of the contract of the Fortune shows that it wn carefully modeled after the Globe (Burbage 's playhouse), which seems to have been considered the acme of theatrical construction. When the Globe Burned, in 1613, I Henslowe Took Advantage of j Burbage's Loss and ! Erected the Hope. j For Burbage to have lost the Globs ! would have been enough; but. to add to ! his discomfort his rival, Heuslowe, came over to Bankside once more (ho left it in 1599), and very near the destroyed Globe, on the site of the bear-baiting garden, put up tho Hope in 1613. (See map.) Again scholars aro fortunate in hav- ing the contract of the Hope. It -aa JT to have been "the same of suche largo k compasse, forme, wideuess and height as the plaiehouse called the Swan "; and "new tyle with English tyle all tha supper roof." It was to have cost thi sum of 530, or some $20,000 in modern money. Burbage's new Globe, however, soon regained his lost patronage ; by 1620 the Hope had lost its prestige, only to be pulled down by the Puritans in 1656. The Red Bull Was the Playhouse for the Country Folk. The Red Bull, orected out in the country coun-try beyond Aldergato (see map) in 1608, was patronized by the less well-to-do. It does not seem ever to have been popular; pop-ular; nor does it seem to have been well equipped. Its erection was significant, f ' because it demonstrates how the theat- rical interests of tho day sought to take care of the patronage of all classes. St. -Paul's Cathedral Was the Playhouse of the Choir Boys. Among the various theatrical companies compa-nies in Shakespeare's London at times there was none more popular than that of the Choir Boys of St. Paul 's. Shakespeare Shake-speare mentions their popularity in his play, ( ' Hamlet, ' ' in which he asserts that the children players are. roundly applauded and patronized, even at the expense of the adult companies. It is a significant fact that children players should have been considered the strongest strong-est rivals and that, too, to Shake- speare's own companies at Blaekfriars and the Globe. The boys were not allowed to act un- ' til after prayers, and they had to close by 6 o'clock, when the gates were shut. John Lyly and Ben Jonson wrote plays for these very excellent actors, and probably the only reason for Shakespeare Shake-speare 's not doing likewise was that he had. interests in two playhouses of hie JT own. RESUME. An investigation of the Elizabethan theaters and theatrical conditions reveals re-veals that Jonson, Shakespeare, Beaumont Beau-mont and Fletcher and Masslnger were popular playwrights; Burbage and Henslowe Hens-lowe were the rival managers. Moreover, More-over, it shows that Shakespeare soon became be-came associated with the better manager, man-ager, Burbage. Again, Shakespeare was connected with the two best theaters Blaekfriars and tho Globe both of which were managed by Burbage. It is significant, too, that these theaters were not only the best equipped, but they were also the smallest of the group. Per- i haps the experiences of the shrewd Bur- bage taught him what was also discovered discov-ered by David Garrick later that a playhouse that is too large quickly shows a decrease in box-office receipts, because the patrons can neither see nor hear well. In a word, the best playwright of the Elizabethan period was associated with the best manager of the day; had the best playhouses' in which to present his work; had some of the very best patronage, patron-age, and wrote his most mature work for this manager, these theaters and the public. verily, the genius of Shakespeare Shake-speare had the best opportunities his age afforded, and he was more than equal to the opportunity. |