English Renaissance theatre is a English drama written between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642. It may also be called early modern English theatre. It includes the drama of William Shakespeare along with many other famous dramatists. The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... Events January 4 - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape. ... The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies, between the Middle Ages and modern society. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Terminology

English Renaissance theatre is sometimes called "Elizabethan theatre." The term "Elizabethan theatre", however, covers only the plays written and performed publicly in England during the reign of QUEEN ELIZABETH. As such, "Elizabethan theatre" is distinguished from Jacobean theatre (associated with the reign of King James I, 1603–1625), and Caroline theatre (associated with King Charles I, 1625 until the closure of the theatres in 1642). "English Renaissance theatre" or "early modern theatre" refers to all three sub-classifications taken together. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary... Year 1603 (MDCIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Events March 27 - Prince Charles Stuart becomes King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from March 27, 1625 until his execution. ... Events March 27 - Prince Charles Stuart becomes King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... Events January 4 - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape. ...

Background

Renaissance theatre derived from several medieval theatre traditions, such as the mystery plays that formed a part of religious festivals in England and other parts of Europe during the Middle Ages. The mystery plays were complex retellings of legends based on biblical themes, originally performed in churches^{[citation needed]} but later becoming more linked to the secular celebrations that grew up around religious festivals. Other sources include the morality plays that evolved out of the mysteries, and the "University drama" that attempted to recreate Greek tragedy. The Italian tradition of Commedia dell'arte as well as the elaborate masques frequently presented at court came to play roles in the shaping of public theatre. Engraving of a performance from the Chester mystery play cycle. ... Mystery plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Morality plays are a type of theatrical allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a godly life over one of evil. ... Introduction Antoine Watteaus commedia dellarte player of Pierrot, ca 1718-19, traditionally identified as Gilles (Louvre) Commedia dellarte, (Italian, meaning comedy of professional artists) was a form of improvisational theater which began in the 16th century and was popular until the 18th century, although it is still... The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy. ...

Companies of players attached to households of leading noblemen and performing seasonally in various locations existed before the reign of Elizabeth I. These became the foundation for the professional players that performed on the Elizabethan stage. The tours of these players gradually replaced the performances of the mystery and morality plays by local players, and a 1572 law eliminated the remaining companies lacking formal patronage by labelling them vagabonds. At court as well, the performance of masques by courtiers and other amateurs, apparently common in the early years of Elizabeth, was replaced by the professional companies with noble patrons, who grew in number and quality during her reign. Elizabeth I redirects here. ...

The City of London authorities were generally hostile to public performances, but its hostility was overmatched by the Queen's taste for plays and the Privy Council's support. Theatres sprang up in suburbs, especially in the liberty of Southwark, accessible across the Thames to city dwellers, but beyond the authority's control. The companies maintained the pretence that their public performances were mere rehearsals for the frequent performances before the Queen, but while the latter did grant prestige, the former were the real source of the income professional players required. Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state Constituent country Region Greater London Status City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor David Lewis  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - Total 1. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... The Liberty of the Clink was an area in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames, opposite the City of London. ...

Along with the economics of the profession, the character of the drama changed toward the end of the period. Under Elizabeth, the drama was a unified expression as far as social class was concerned: the Court watched the same plays the commoners saw in the public playhouses. With the development of the private theatres, drama became more oriented toward the tastes and values of an upper-class audience. By the later part of the reign of Charles I, few new plays were being written for the public theatres, which sustained themselves on the accumulated works of the previous decades.^[1] Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from March 27, 1625 until his execution. ...

Theatres

A 1596 sketch of a performance in progress on the thrust stage of The Swan, a typical circular Elizabethan open-roof playhouse.

The establishment of large and profitable public theatres was an essential enabling factor in the success of English Renaissance drama—once they were in operation, drama could become a fixed and permanent rather than a transitory phenomenon. The crucial initiating development was the building of The Theatre by James Burbage, in Shoreditch in 1576. The Theatre was rapidly followed by the nearby Curtain Theatre (1577), the Rose (1587), the Swan (1595), the Globe (1599), the Fortune (1600), and the Red Bull (1604).^[2] Download high resolution version (502x602, 348 KB)A cropped version of this sketch. ... Download high resolution version (502x602, 348 KB)A cropped version of this sketch. ... Events February 5 - 26 catholics crucified in Nagasaki, Japan. ... A production of Godspell performed on a 3/4 thust stage In theater, a thrust stage (also known as a platform stage or open stage [1]) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its up stage end. ... A 1596 sketch of a performance in progress on the platform or apron stage of the Swan. ... The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ... This article is about one specific theatre in London; for information on theatres in general, see Theater. ... James Burbage (d. ... Shoreditch Town Hall Shoreditch is a place in the London Borough of Hackney. ... Events May 5 - Peace of Beaulieu or Peace of Monsieur (after Monsieur, the Duc dAnjou, brother of the King, who negotiated it). ... The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Curtain Close, Shoreditch, just outside the City of London and close to an earlier playhouse known as The Theatre. ... Events March 17 - formation of the Cathay Company to send Martin Frobisher back to the New World for more gold May 28 - Publication of the Bergen Book, better known as the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, one of the Lutheran confessional writings. ... , The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. ... 1587 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... A 1596 sketch of a performance in progress on the platform or apron stage of the Swan. ... Events January 30 - William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is performed for the first time. ... This article is about the original Globe Theatre of Shakespeare and the modern reconstruction in London known as Shakespeares Globe Theatre. ... Year 1599 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Fortune Playhouse is the name of an historic theatre in London. ... 1600 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Red Bull was a playhouse in London during the seventeenth century. ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 – Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ...

Archaeological excavations on the foundations of the Rose and the Globe in the late twentieth century showed that all the London theatres had individual differences; yet their common function necessitated a similar general plan.^[3] The public theatres were three stories high, and built around an open space at the centre. Usually polygonal in plan to give an overall rounded effect (though the Red Bull and the first Fortune were square), the three levels of inward-facing galleries overlooked the open center, into which jutted the stage—essentially a platform surrounded on three sides by the audience, only the rear being restricted for the entrances and exits of the actors and seating for the musicians. The upper level behind the stage could be used as a balcony, as in Romeo and Juliet or Antony and Cleopatra, or as a position from which an actor could harangue a crowd, as in Julius Caesar. A balcony comprising a balustrade supported at either end by plinths. ... For other uses, see Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation). ... Anthony and Cleopatra, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. ... Facsimile of the first page of Julius Caesar from the First Folio, published in 1623 Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed written in 1599. ...

Usually built of timber, lath and plaster and with thatched roofs, the early theatres were vulnerable to fire, and were replaced (when necessary) with stronger structures. When the Globe burned down in June 1613, it was rebuilt with a tile roof; when the Fortune burned down in December 1621, it was rebuilt in brick (and apparently was no longer square). Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ... 1621 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

A different model was developed with the Blackfriars Theatre, which came into regular use on a longterm basis in 1599.^[4] The Blackfriars was small in comparison to the earlier theatres and roofed rather than open to the sky; it resembled a modern theatre in ways that its predecessors did not. Other small enclosed theatres followed, notably the Whitefriars (1608) and the Cockpit (1617). With the building of the Salisbury Court Theatre in 1629 near the site of the defunct Whitefriars, the London audience had six theatres to choose from: three surviving large open-air "public" theatres, the Globe, the Fortune, and the Red Bull, and three smaller enclosed "private" theatres, the Blackfriars, the Cockpit, and the Salisbury Court.^[5] Audiences of the 1630s benefited from a half-century of vigorous dramaturgical development; the plays of Marlowe and Shakespeare and their contemporaries were still being performed on a regular basis (mostly at the public theatres), while the newest works of the newest playwrights were abundant as well (mainly at the private theatres). Blackfriars Theatre was the name of two separate theatres in the City of London, built on grounds previously belonging to a Dominican monastery. ... Year 1599 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Whitefriars Theatre was a theatre in Jacobean London, in existence from 1608 to 1629. ... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia May 14 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen. ... These plans, drawn by Inigo Jones probably around 1616 to 1618, may be for the Cockpit Theatre. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... The Salisbury Court Theatre was a London theatre of the Caroline age. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Dramaturgy is the art of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. ... This article is about the English dramatist. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Around 1580, when both the Theatre and the Curtain were full on summer days, the total theatre capacity of London was about 5000 spectators. With the building of new theatre facilities and the formation of new companies, the capital's total theatre capacity exceeded 10,000 after 1610.^[6] In 1580, the poorest citizens could purchase admittance to the Curtain or the Theatre for a penny; in 1640, their counterparts could gain admittance to the Globe, the Cockpit, or the Red Bull—for exactly the same price. (Ticket prices at the private theatres were five or six times higher).

Performances

The acting companies functioned on a repertory system; unlike modern productions that can run for months or years on end, the troupes of this era rarely acted the same play two days in a row. Thomas Middleton's A Game at Chess ran for nine straight performances in August 1624 before it was closed by the authorities—but this was due to the political content of the play and was a unique, unprecedented, and unrepeatable phenomenon. Consider the 1592 season of Lord Strange's Men at the Rose Theatre as far more representative: between Feb. 19 and June 23 the company played six days a week, minus Good Friday and two other days. They performed 23 different plays, some only once, and their most popular play of the season, The First Part of Hieronimo, (based on Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy), 15 times. They never played the same play two days in a row, and rarely the same play twice in a week.^[7] The workload on the actors, especially the leading performers like Edward Alleyn, must have been tremendous. Thomas Middleton (1580 – 1627) was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. ... A Game at Chess is a comic satirical play by Thomas Middleton, first staged in August 1624 by the Kings Men at the Globe Theatre, and notable for its political content. ... Lord Stranges Men was an Elizabethan playing company, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange. ... , The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. ... Title page of the Quarto edition (1615) The Spanish Tragedie: or, Hieronimo is Mad Againe is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1587-1590 and first performed in London around 1590. ...

One distinctive feature of the companies was that they included only males. Until the reign of Charles II, female parts were played by adolescent boy players in women's costume. Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ... Edward Kynaston, one of the last boy players (1889 engraving of a contemporary portrait) Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by English Renaissance acting companies. ...

Writers

The growing population of London, the growing wealth of its people, and their fondness for spectacle produced a dramatic literature of remarkable variety, quality, and extent. Although most of the plays written for the Elizabethan stage have been lost, over 600 remain extant.

The men (no women were professional dramatists in this era)^[8] who wrote these plays were primarily self-made men from modest backgrounds. Some of them were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, but many were not. Although William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson were actors, the majority do not seem to have been performers, and no major author who came on to the scene after 1600 is known to have supplemented his income by acting. The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ... 1600 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Not all of the playwrights fit modern images of poets or intellectuals. Christopher Marlowe was killed in an apparent tavern brawl, while Ben Jonson killed an actor in a duel. Several probably were soldiers. This article is about the English dramatist. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ...

Playwrights were normally paid in increments during the writing process, and if their play was accepted, they would also receive the proceeds from one day's performance. However, they had no ownership of the plays they wrote. Once a play was sold to a company, the company owned it, and the playwright had no control over casting, performance, revision or publication.

The profession of dramatist was challenging and far from lucrative.^[9] Entries in Philip Henslowe's Diary show that in the years around 1600 Henslowe paid as little as £6 or £7 per play. This was probably at the low end of the range, though even the best writers could not demand too much more. A playwright, working alone, could generally produce two plays a year at most; in the 1630s Richard Brome signed a contract with the Salisbury Court Theatre to supply three plays a year, but found himself unable to meet the workload. Shakespeare produced fewer than 40 solo plays in a career that spanned more than two decades; he was financially successful because he was an actor and, most importantly, a shareholder in the company for which he acted and in the theatres they used. Ben Jonson achieved success as a purveyor of Court masques, and was talented at playing the patronage game that was an important part of the social and economic life of the era. Those who were playwrights pure and simple fared far less well; the biographies of early figures like George Peele and Robert Greene, and later ones like Brome and Philip Massinger, are marked by financial uncertainty, struggle, and poverty. Philip Henslowe (c 1550 - January 6, 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur. ... Richard Brome (died 1652) was an English dramatist. ... The Salisbury Court Theatre was a London theatre of the Caroline age. ... Costume for a Knight, by Inigo Jones: the plumed helmet, the heroic torso in armour and other conventions were still employed for opera seria in the 18th century. ... ... George Peele (1558 - c. ... Robert Greene Robert Greene, BA, MA, (1558 – September 3, 1592) was an English playwright, poet, pamphleteer, and prose writer. ... Philip Massinger (1583 - 1640) was an English dramatist. ...

Playwrights dealt with the natural limitation on their productivity by combining into teams of two, three, four, and even five to generate play texts; the majority of plays written in this era were collaborations, and the solo artists who generally eschewed collaborative efforts, like Jonson and Shakespeare, were the exceptions to the rule. Dividing the work, of course, meant dividing the income; but the arrangement seems to have functioned well enough to have made it worthwhile. (The truism that says, diversify your investments, may have worked for the Elizabethan play market as for the modern stock market.) Of the 70-plus known works in the canon of Thomas Dekker, roughly 50 are collaborations; in a single year, 1598, Dekker worked on 16 collaborations for impresario Philip Henslowe, and earned £30, or a little under 12 shillings per week—roughly twice as much as the average artisan's income of 1s. per day.^[10] At the end of his career, Thomas Heywood would famously claim to have had "an entire hand, or at least a main finger" in the authorship of some 220 plays. A solo artist usually needed months to write a play (though Jonson is said to have done Volpone in five weeks); Henslowe's Diary indicates that a team of four or five writers could produce a play in as little as two weeks. Admittedly, though, the Diary also shows that teams of Henslowe's house dramatists—Anthony Munday, Robert Wilson, Richard Hathwaye, Henry Chettle, and the others, even including a young John Webster—could start a project, and accept advances on it, yet fail to produce anything stageworthy. (Modern understanding of collaboration in this era is biased by the fact that the failures have generally disappeared with barely a trace; for one exception to this rule, see: Sir Thomas More.)^[11] Thomas Dekker, (c. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... Philip Henslowe (c 1550 - January 6, 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur. ... Thomas Heywood (died approx. ... An illustration for an 1898 edition of Volpone by Aubrey Beardsley. ... Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?–August 10, 1633), was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. ... Robert Wilson (fl. ... Richard Hathwaye (fl. ... Henry Chettle (1564?-1607?) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era. ... John Webster (c. ... Playtext from the 2005 Royal Shakespeare Company production. ...

Genres

Genres of the period included the history play, which depicted English or European history. Shakespeare’s plays about the lives of kings, such as Richard III and Henry V, belong to this category, as do Christopher Marlowe's Edward II and George Peele's Famous Chronicle of King Edward the First. There were also a number of history plays that dealt with more recent events, including the little-known A Larum for London, which dramatizes the sack of Antwerp of 1576. Traditionally, the works of William Shakespeare have been grouped into three categories: tragedies, comedies, and histories. ... Shakespeare redirects here. ... Frontispage of the First Quarto Richard The Third. ... Title page of the first quarto (1600) Henry V, also known as The Cronicle History of Henry the fift, is a play by William Shakespeare based on the life of King Henry V of England. ... This article is about the English dramatist. ... Edward II is an Elizabethan play written by Christopher Marlowe. ... George Peele (1558 - c. ... Play by George Peele, published 1593, chronicling the career of Edward I of England. ... A Larum for London, or the Siedge of Antwerp is a play written by an anonymous author around the year 1602. ...

Tragedy was a popular genre. Marlowe's tragedies were exceptionally popular, such as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta. The audiences particularly liked revenge dramas, such as Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy. John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi offers a parade of bloody cruelties. Another such play was Shakespeare's MacBeth. For other uses, see Tragedy (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Jew of Malta is an antisemetic play by Christopher Marlowe, probably written in 1589 or 1590. ... Title page of the Quarto edition of The Spanish Tragedy(1615) The revenge play or revenge tragedy is a form of tragedy which was extremely popular in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. ... Thomas Kyd (1558 - 1594) was an English dramatist, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama. ... Title page of the Quarto edition (1615) The Spanish Tragedie: or, Hieronimo is Mad Againe is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1587-1590 and first performed in London around 1590. ... John Webster (c. ... The Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play, written by the English dramatist John Webster and first performed in 1614 [1] at the Globe Theatre in London, and published for the first time in 1623. ...

Comedies were common, too. A sub-genre developed in this period was the city comedy, which deals satirically with life in London after the fashion of Roman New Comedy. Examples are Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday and Thomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. City comedy is a common genre of Elizabethan drama. ... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... Thomas Dekker, (c. ... The Shoemakers Holiday is an Elizabethan play written by Thomas Dekker. ... Thomas Middleton (1580 – 1627) was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. ... A Chaste Maid in Cheapside is a city comedy written in 1613 by English Renaissance playwright Thomas Middleton. ...

Though marginalized, the older genres like pastoral (The Faithful Shepherdess, 1608), and even the morality play (Four Plays in One, ca. 1608-13) could exert influences. After about 1610, the new hybrid sub-genre of the tragicomedy enjoyed an efflorescence, as did the masque throughout the reigns of the first two Stuart kings, James I and Charles I. For other uses, see Pastoral (disambiguation). ... Morality plays are a type of theatrical allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a godly life over one of evil. ... Tragicomedy refers to fictional works that blend aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. ... Costume for a Knight, by Inigo Jones: the plumed helmet, the heroic torso in armour and other conventions were still employed for opera seria in the 18th century. ... The Coat of Arms of King James I, the first British monarch of the House of Stuart The House of Stuart or Stewart was a royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later also of the Kingdom of England, and finally of the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary... Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from March 27, 1625 until his execution. ...

Printed texts

Only a minority of the plays of English Renaissance theatre were ever printed; of Heywood's 220 plays noted above, only about 20 were published in book form.^[12] A little over 600 plays were published in the period as a whole, most commonly in individual quarto editions. (Larger collected editions, like those of Shakespeare's, Ben Jonson's, and Beaumont and Fletcher's plays, were a late and limited development.) Through much of the modern era, it was thought that play texts were popular items among Renaissance readers that provided healthy profits for the stationers who printed and sold them. By the turn of the 21st century, the climate of scholarly opinion shifted somewhat on this belief: some contemporary researchers argue that publishing plays was a risky and marginal business^[13] — though this conclusion has been disputed by others.^[14] Some of the most successful publishers of the English Renaissance, like William Ponsonby or Edward Blount, rarely published plays. The size of a specific book is measured from the head to tail of the spine, and from edge to edge across the covers. ... William Shakespeares earliest published plays are referred to as folios or quartos according to the size of the book. ... The folio collections of Ben Jonsons works published in the seventeenth century were crucial developments in the publication of English literature and English Renaissance drama. ... The Beaumont and Fletcher folios were two large folio collections of the stage plays of John Fletcher and his collaborators. ... The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. ... William Ponsonby (died 1604) was a prominent London publisher of the Elizabethan era. ... Edward Blount (or Blunt) (b. ...

A very small number of plays from the era survived not in printed texts but in manuscript form.^[15] A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ...

The End

The rising Puritan movement was hostile to the theaters, which the Puritans considered to be unholy cesspools of disease and sin. For the record label, see Puritan Records. ...

List of playwrights

William Alabaster (also Alablaster, Arblastier) (1567-1640) was an English poet, playwright, and religious writer. ... William Alley or William Alleyn (1510-15 April 1570) was an Anglican prelate and the bishop of Exeter during the regin of Queen Elizabeth I. Engraving of Old St. ... Title page of Armins The History of the two Maids of More-Clacke, 1609. ... Barnabe Barnes (c. ... Sketch of Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont (1584 – March 6, 1616) was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher. ... For the 15th-century marquess, see Marquess of Berkeley. ... Richard Brome (died 1652) was an English dramatist. ... Lodowick Carlell (1602—1675), also Carliell or Carlile, was a seventeenth-century English playwright, active mainly during the Caroline era, 1625–42. ... William Cartwright (1611 - November 29, 1643), was an English dramatist and churchman. ... Sir William Cavendish (1505 - 25 October 1557) was an English courtier who became one of Thomas Cromwells visitors of the monasteries when King Henry VIII annexed the property of the Catholic Church at the end of the 1530s, and Cavendish became quite wealthy from his share of those properties. ... This article is about George Chapman the English literary figure; see George Chapman (murderer) for the Victorian poisoner of the same name. ... Henry Chettle (1564?-1607?) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era. ... Robert Daborne (c. ... Samuel Daniel (1562 – October 14, 1619) was an English poet and historian. ... William Davenant Sir William Davenant (February 28, 1606 - April 7, 1668), also spelled DAvenant, was an English poet and playwright. ... Robert Davenport (fl. ... John Day (1574-1640?) was an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. ... Thomas Dekker, (c. ... The Earl of Oxford, from the 1914 publication English Travellers of the Renaissance by Clare Howard Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (April 12, 1550 - June 24, 1604) was born at Castle Hedingham to the 16th Earl of Oxford. ... Drayton, 1628 Michael Drayton (1563 – December 23, 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. ... Richard Edwardes (Edwards) (1523?-1566) was an English dramatist. ... Nathaniel Field (1587 - 1620), was an English dramatist and actor; his father was the Puritan preacher John Field and his brother became the Bishop of Llandaff. ... John Fletcher (1579-1625) was a Jacobean playwright. ... John Ford (baptized April 17, 1586 - c. ... Abraham Fraunce (c. ... George Gascoigne George Gascoigne (c. ... Henry Glapthorne (flourished 1640), dramatist, had a high reputation among his contemporaries, though now almost forgotten. ... Thomas Goffe (1591 - 1629) was a minor Elizabethan dramatist. ... Arthur Golding (c. ... Robert Greene Robert Greene, BA, MA, (1558 – September 3, 1592) was an English playwright, poet, pamphleteer, and prose writer. ... Richard Hathwaye (fl. ... William Haughton (d. ... Thomas Heywood (died approx. ... Thomas Hughes was an English dramatist, a native of Cheshire, entered Queens College, Cambridge, in 1571. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ... Dr Henry Killigrew (1613-1700) was the son of Robert Killigrew and the younger brother of the dramatist Thomas Killigrew. ... Thomas Killigrew (1612 - March 19, 1683), was an English dramatist. ... Thomas Kyd (1558 - 1594) was an English dramatist, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama. ... Thomas Lodge (c. ... John Lyly (Lilly or Lylie) (c. ... Gervase (or Jervis) Markham (1568? - February 1637) was an English poet and writer, best known for his work The English Hus-wife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman first published in London in 1615. ... This article is about the English dramatist. ... Shackerley Marmion (1603 - 1639), dramatist, son of a country gentleman of Northamptonshire, was educated at Oxford. ... John Marston (October 7, 1576 - June 25, 1634) was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. ... Philip Massinger (1583 - 1640) was an English dramatist. ... Thomas May (1595 - 1650), poet and historian, born in Sussex, son of Sir Thomas May, of Mayfield, went to Cambridge, and thence to Grays Inn, but discarded law for literature. ... Thomas Middleton (1580 – 1627) was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. ... Anthony Munday (or Monday) (1560?–August 10, 1633), was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. ... Thomas Nabbes (1605- date of death unknown) was an English dramatist. ... Thomas Nashe (November 1567–1600?) was an English Elizabethan pamphleteer, poet and satirist. ... Thomas Norton (1532 - March 10, 1584) was a English lawyer, politician and writer of verse. ... George Peele (1558 - c. ... Henry Porter (d. ... Thomas Preston (1537-1598) was a master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge and a dramatist. ... Samuel Rowley was a 17th century English dramatist. ... William Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. ... Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset (1536 - 19 April 1608) was an English statesman and poet. ... William Sampson is a name shared by several notable individuals: Admiral William T. Sampson, American commander in the Spanish-American War William Sampson (playwright), collaborated with Gervase Markham William Harkness Sampson, Methodist minister and educator, founder of Lawrence University William Sampson (suspect), a Canadian terrorism suspect later released This is... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Henry G. Shirley (died July 16, 1941) was Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Highways. ... James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 - October 29, 1666), was an English dramatist. ... Philip Sidney. ... Wentworth Smith (fl. ... Sir John Suckling (February 10, 1609 - 1642) was an English Cavalier poet whose best known poem may be Ballad Upon a Wedding. He was born at Whitton, in the parish of Twickenham, Middlesex, and baptized there on February 10, 1609. ... Cyril Tourneur (1575 – February 28, 1626) was a Jacobean dramatist who enjoyed his greatest success during the reign of King James I of England. ... John Webster (c. ... George Hubert Wilkins (fl. ... Edward Alleyn (September 1, 1566 – November 25, 1626), English actor, was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of Dulwich College and Alleyns School. ... Title page of Armins The History of the two Maids of More-Clacke, 1609. ... Christopher Beeston (c. ... Unknown artist: Portrait of Richard Burbage, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London Richard Burbage (July 7, 1568 – March 13, 1619) was an actor and theatre owner. ... Henry Condell was an actor in the Kings Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. ... Alexander Cooke (died February 1614) was a boy player and actor in the Lord Chamberlains Men and the Kings Men. ... Nathaniel Field (1587 - 1620), was an English dramatist and actor; his father was the Puritan preacher John Field and his brother became the Bishop of Llandaff. ... John Heminges was an actor in the Kings Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. ... Thomas Heywood (died approx. ... William Kempe (also spelled Kemp) (fl. ... Augustine Phillips (died May 4, 1605) was an Elizabethan actor who performed in troupes with Edward Alleyn and William Shakespeare. ... John Lowin (baptized 9 December 1576 - buried 16th/18 March 1659) was an English actor born in London, the son of a carpenter. ... William Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Richard Tarlton (d. ... Joseph Taylor (died November 4, 1652) was a 17th-century actor. ... Nicholas Tooley (c. ... This article is about one specific theatre in London; for information on theatres in general, see Theater. ... The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Curtain Close, Shoreditch, just outside the City of London and close to an earlier playhouse known as The Theatre. ... , The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. ... A 1596 sketch of a performance in progress on the platform or apron stage of the Swan. ... This article is about the original Globe Theatre of Shakespeare and the modern reconstruction in London known as Shakespeares Globe Theatre. ... Blackfriars Theatre was the name of two separate theatres in the City of London, built on grounds previously belonging to a Dominican monastery. ... The Fortune Playhouse is the name of an historic theatre in London. ... The Hope Theatre was one of the theatres built in and around London for the presentation of plays in English Renaissance theatre, comparable to the Globe, the Curtain, the Swan, and other famous theatres of the era. ... The Red Bull was a playhouse in London during the seventeenth century. ... The Red Lion was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Mile End (part of the modern Borough of Tower Hamlets), just outside the City of London. ... These plans, drawn by Inigo Jones probably around 1616 to 1618, may be for the Cockpit Theatre. ... The Salisbury Court Theatre was a London theatre of the Caroline age. ... The Whitefriars Theatre was a theatre in Jacobean London, in existence from 1608 to 1629. ... Newington Butts is a short road in Southwark, London, England, leading south-west from the Elephant and Castle. ... In the historical era of English Renaissance drama, an Inn-yard theatre or Inn-theatre was a common inn that provided a venue for the presentation of stage plays. ... In Renaissance London, playing company was the usual term for a company of actors. ... The Admirals Men were a theatre company in the Elizabethan era, an example of Elizabethan theatre. ... It has been suggested that Lord Chamberlains Men be merged into this article or section. ... The Kings Revels Children or Children of the Kings Revels were a troupe of actors, or playing company, in Jacobean era London, active in the 1607-9 period. ... The Kings Revels Men or Kings Revels Company was a playing company or troupe of actors in seventeenth-century England. ... The Lady Elizabeths Men was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James Is daughter Princess Elizabeth. ... The Earl of Leicesters Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre, active mainly in the 1570s and 1580s in the reign of Elizabeth I. In many respects, it was the major company in Elizabethan drama up to that time, and established the pattern... The Lord Chamberlains Men was the playing company that William Shakespeare worked for as actor and playwright for most of his career. ... Prince Charless Men (known as the Duke of Yorks Men from 1608 to 1612) was a playing company or troupe of actors in Jacobean and Caroline England. ... Queen Annes Men, or the Queens Men, was a Jacobean theatrical company. ... Queen Elizabeths Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre. ... Queen Henriettas Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in the Caroline era, formed in 1625 at the start of the reign of King Charles I, by theatrical impressario Christopher Beeston, under royal patronage of the new queen, Henrietta Maria. ... Worcesters Men were an acting company in Renaissance England. ... The Children of Pauls was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. ... The Children of the Chapel (later known as the Children of the Queens Revels) was a troupe of child actors in Elizabethan England. ...

Other significant people

• George Buc, Master of the Revels 1609 - 1622
• Cuthbert Burbage, entrepreneur
• James Burbage, entrepreneur
• Philip Henslowe, entrepreneur
• Henry Herbert, Master of the Revels 1623-1673
• Francis Langley, entrepreneur
• Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels 1579 - 1609

Sir George Buck (died 1622) was an antiquarian who served as Master of the Revels to King James I of England. ... Master of the Revels was an office within the British royal household that originally had minor responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... James Burbage (d. ... Philip Henslowe (c 1550 - January 6, 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur. ... Sir Henry Herbert (1595-1673) was Master of the Revels to both King Charles I and King Charles II of England. ... Master of the Revels was an office within the British royal household that originally had minor responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities. ... Francis Langley (1550 – 1601) was a theatre builder and theatrical producer in Elizabethan era London. ... Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels. ... Master of the Revels was an office within the British royal household that originally had minor responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities. ...

See also

• History of theatre
• List of English Renaissance theatres
• Accession Day tilt

// Main article: Sanskrit Plays Folk theatre and dramatics can be traced to the religious ritualism of the Vedic peoples. ... The following is a list of English Renaissance Theatres, from the first theatres built in 1567, to their closure at the beginning of the English Civil War in 1642. ... George Clifford attired as the Knight of Pendragon Castle for the Tilt of 1590. ...

Notes

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Newington Butts is a short road in Southwark, London, England, leading south-west from the Elephant and Castle. ... The Hope Theatre was one of the theatres built in and around London for the presentation of plays in English Renaissance theatre, comparable to the Globe, the Curtain, the Swan, and other famous theatres of the era. ... This article is about the cathedral church of the diocese of London. ... The Children of Pauls was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. ... A retrospective plan of Whitehall Palace as it was in 1680, by Fisher. ... Elizabeth Tanfield Cary, Lady Falkland (1585-1639) was a poet, translator, and dramatist. ... Portrait of Mary Herbert, by Nicholas Hilliard, c. ... Lumley [née Fitzalan], Jane, Lady Lumley (1537–1578), translator, was the first person to translate Euripides into English. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... Play by Philip Massinger. ... The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt was a Jacobean play written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger in 1619, and produced in the same year by the Kings Men at the Globe Theatre. ... Playtext from the 2005 Royal Shakespeare Company production. ...

References

• Chambers, E. K. The Elizabethan Stage. 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923.
• Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespearean Stage 1574–1642. Third edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
• Halliday, F. E. A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964. Baltimore, Penguin, 1964.

Sir Edmund Kerchever Chambers (1866–1954) was an English literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. ... Andrew John Gurr (born December 23, 1936) is a contemporary literary scholar who specializes in William Shakespeare and English Renaissance theatre. ...

External links

• Early Modern Drama database
• Shakespeare and the Globe from Encyclopaedia Britannica; a more comprehensive resource on the theatre of this period than its name suggests.
• A Lecture on Elizabethan Theatre by Thomas Larque
• A site discussing the influence of Ancient Rome on English Renaissance Theatre
• Richard Southern archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, University of Bristol

The University of Bristol is a university in Bristol, England. ...