Theatre Becomes Professional! …And Government Regulated!
An introduction to Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre
In 1576, carpenter/aspiring actor James Burbage built the first permanent theatre – rather cleverly called The Theatre – allowing actors and playwrights to finally make a living doing what they did best. At the same time, Elizabeth I was gradually consolidating the power of the throne so that she and her successor, James I, came to reign nearly as absolute monarchs. The theatre was among the institutions of which they gained control. By then end of Elizabeth’s life, for better or worse, the British government officially ruled over the performing arts.
Hi-diddle-dee-dee, an actor's life for me!
When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, any gentleman could have a troupe of actors, but if you were one of those rebellious actors not employed by a gentleman, you were classified as a vagabond and subject to severe penalties. Because such acting troupes could tour, actors were not closely supervised (apparently “kid wranglers” did not exist in Elizabethan England) and many illegal troupes were formed. This angered Elizabeth who, in 1572, declared it illegal for any one below the rank of baron – including noble women who were allowed to have their own troupes – to maintain an acting company.
We know of at least 100 acting companies that existed during 1572-1642, and all were either adult companies or boys’ companies (led by an adult managing director). The adult companies were organized on the sharing system in which risks and profits were divided among any of the actors who had bought shares within the company. As an actor you needn’t buy any stock, but if you did, you had to put up a sizeable chunk of money in advance and commit yourself to the troupe for a minimum of three years. You also received the prime roles – in other words, the tradition of buying one’s way into the business began as early as the Elizabethan era. Indeed, Shakespeare was just such a clever businessman – he got his start as a shareholder and actor for the Chamberlain’s Men.
During James I’s reign (when The Tamer Tamed was first produced), only companies with a royal patent were allowed to put up shop in the London area: the King’s Men, Prince Henry’s Men, and the Elector Palatine’s Men (the king’s son-in-law).
Similar to many regional theatres in the US today, adult companies employed acting apprenticeship programs. Each company typically had 4-6 apprentices who were each assigned to the best and most well-known actors within the company. Such apprenticeships could last anywhere from 3-12 years and some boys entered them as early as age ten and remained into their early twenties. These boys played all of the women’s roles, as it was illegal for women to be on the stage at this time.
Want to see Elizabethan acting companies in action? Check out the 1998 star-studded, award-winning Shakespeare in Love in which Elizabeth I (Judi Dench) and Richard Burbage (Martin Clunes) make cameos. And though it takes place a bit later, just as Charles II decreed women were allowed to act, Stage Beauty (2004), starring Claire Danes as a wardrobe mistress who desperately longs to act, and Billy Crudup, who plays the cross-dressing actor she falls in love with, offers a general flavor of theatre at the time.
To Privatize or not to Privatize…
In London at this time, acting troupes would perform in one of two types of theatres. The most frequented was the open-air (public) theatre, which was built for the masses. There were also smaller, indoor (private) theatres that admitted and catered to only the aristocracy. A whopping thirteen theatres existed in and around London between 1567 and 1623.
The earliest of the professional theatres that we are aware of was called The Red Lion. Built by Burbage’s brother-in-law in 1567, its fate is unknown, hence tradition dubbing The Theatre as the first playhouse. The general design of public playhouses such as The Red Lion and The Swan (pictured to the left) was inspired by the inns and gaming arenas (used primarily for bull and bear baiting, among other entertaining activities) where acting troupes had performed before dedicated structures were built for them. The Rose (1587-1606) dominated London’s South Bank until some shrewd businessman came along and built The Globe across the street. The most famous of the public theatres (due to its association with Shakespeare), The Globe was built in 1599, burned to the ground in 1613 during a production of Shakespeare & Fletcher’s Henry VIII, was rebuilt in 1614, and then thought to have been torn down in 1644 by the Puritans.
The Globe and other outdoor theatres were round, or many-sided, open-roofed, wooden buildings with large platform stages that had doors and balconies at the rear. Performances were typically given in the afternoons so as to ensure good lighting. The yard was always filled with working class Londoners who, standing, surrounded all three sides of the stage, accounting for up to a third of the audience (the Rose held up to approximately 2,000, while The Globe held almost 3,000!). These groundlings paid a penny for the performance. To obtain benched seating in the galleries, they paid a penny more, and a third penny would afford them the luxury of cushioned seats in the boxes. For six pennies, one could purchase an opulent seat in the Lords’ Rooms. If a new play was on the bill, there was a good chance the fees would be doubled.
Women were welcome to attend the theatre, but they had to be wary of standing in the yard, as women who did so were looked upon as having certain reputations.
The private theatres such as the Blackfriars Playhouse that Shakespeare’s company utilized in addition to the Globe (and where The Tamer Tamed may very well have premiered), offered more intimate experiences for the wealthy and held audiences of about 600. These indoor performances were lit by candles and torches though most performances did occur during the afternoon. More risqué shows like The Tamer Tamed or Middleton and Dekker’s The Roaring Girl were ideal for these private theatres.
Hankering for that Elizabethan play-going experience today?
Luckily for us, we can fully experience what theatre was like in 17th century England (well, as fully as one can without all those rowdy groundlings!): A replica of The Globe was constructed in 1997 (see view of its stage to the right) and a reconstruction of The Rose (on its original site and foundation) has been in progress since 1989. If you can’t manage a trip across the pond this year, the Shakespearean theatre experience is just a road-trip away: Staunton, Virginia boasts the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre, the Blackfriars Playhouse, and thanks to that ingenious roofing idea, it operates year-round!
Check ’em out on the web:
The Rose: www.rosetheatre.org.uk/
The Globe: www.shakespeares-globe.org/
The Blackfriars: www.americanshakespearecenter.com/blackfriars-playhouse/
Or, if you’d prefer an experience that’s even closer to home, pick up Joseph Papp and Elizabeth Kirkland’s Shakespeare Alive!, a lively and very readable history of the Elizabethan stage (published by Bantam Books in 1988). In addition, most of the information included here (and more!) can be found in the volumes on general theatre history by Oscar Brockett, Gerald Eades Bentley, and E.K. Chambers.
Coming Attractions to the SOT Blog…
Be sure to check back next Monday for a “What’s On” of early 17th century London theatre:
• Jacobean vs. Elizabethan drama
• Popular playwrights of the day
• The Tamer Tamed’s competition
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