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TY - ELEC
A1 - San Diego State University English 534 Spring 2014 Students
ED - Jenstad, Janelle
T1 - Blackfriars Theatre
T2 - The Map of Early Modern London
ET - 7.0
PY - 2022
DA - 2022/05/05
CY - Victoria
PB - University of Victoria
LA - English
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/BLAC6.htm
UR - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/xml/standalone/BLAC6.xml
ER -
Blackfriars Repertory?
The city of London, not to be confused with the allegorical character (
Originally built as a Roman fortification for the provincial city of Londinium in the second century C.E., the London Wall remained a material and spatial boundary for the city throughout the early modern period. Described by high and great
(Stow 1:8), the London Wall dominated the cityscape and spatial imaginations of Londoners for centuries. Increasingly, the eighteen-foot high wall created a pressurized constraint on the growing city; the various gates functioned as relief valves where development spilled out to occupy spaces
St. Paul’s Cathedral was—and remains—an important church in London. In
The largest and wealthiest friary in England, Blackfriars was not only a
religious institution but also a cultural, intellectual, and political centre of London. The friary housed
London’s Dominican friars (known in England as the Black friars) after their move from
the smaller Blackfriars precincts in Holborn. The Dominicans’ aquisition of the site,
overseen by
Built in
The first purpose-built playhouse in England, the Theatre, located in Shoreditch, was constructed in
The Swan was the second of the Bankside theatres. It was located at Paris Garden. It was in use from
For information about the Red Bull, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
The Globe was the open-air, public theatre in which
The history of the two Blackfriars theatres is long and fraught with legal and political struggles. The story begins in
The Julian calendar, in use in the British Empire until September 1752. This calendar is used for dates where the date of the beginning of the year is ambigious.
The Julian calendar with the calendar year regularized to beginning on 1 January.
The Julian calendar with the calendar year beginning on 25 March. This was the calendar used in the British Empire until September 1752.
The Gregorian calendar, used in the British Empire from September 1752. Sometimes
referred to as
The Anno Mundi (year of the world
) calendar is based on the supposed date of the
creation of the world, which is calculated from Biblical sources. At least two different
creation dates are in common use. See Anno Mundi (Wikipedia).
Regnal dates are given as the number of years into the reign of a particular monarch.
Our practice is to tag such dates with
Project Manager, 2020-2021. Assistant Project Manager, 2019-2020. Research Assistant, 2018-2020. Kate LeBere completed her BA (Hons.) in History and English at the University of Victoria in 2020. She published papers in
Junior Programmer 2018-2020. Research Associate 2020-2021. Tracey received her PhD from the Department of English at the University of Victoria in the field of Science and Technology Studies. Her research focuses on the
Programmer, 2018-present. Junior Programmer, 2015-2017. Research Assistant, 2014-2017. Joey Takeda was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia in the Department of English (Science and Technology research stream). He completed his BA honours in English (with a minor in Women’s Studies) at the University of Victoria in 2016. His primary research interests included diasporic and indigenous Canadian and American literature, critical theory, cultural studies, and the digital humanities.
Data Manager, 2015-2016. Research Assistant, 2013-2015. Tye completed his undergraduate honours degree in English at the University of Victoria in 2015.
Director of Pedagogy and Outreach, 2015–2020. Associate Project Director, 2015. Assistant Project Director, 2013-2014. MoEML Research Fellow, 2013. Kim McLean-Fiander comes to
Janelle Jenstad is Associate Professor of English at the University of Victoria, Director of
Programmer at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre (HCMC). Martin ported the MOL project from its original PHP incarnation to a pure eXist database implementation in the fall of 2011. Since then, he has been lead programmer on the project and has also been responsible for maintaining the project schemas. He was a co-applicant on MoEML’s 2012 SSHRC Insight Grant.
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Royal Poetrie: Monarchic Verse and the Political Imaginary of Early Modern England
Actor with the
Queen consort of England
Playwright.
Actor with the
Member of the
Actor. Son of
Actor. Father of
First Baron Hunsdon. Lord Chamberlain of
Wife of
First Master of the Revels. Husband of
Letter writer.
King of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Holy Roman Emperor
Playwright, translator, and poet.
Brought a Star Chamber case against choirmaster
Son of
Actor with the
Earl of Essex. Royal minister of
Actor with the
Poet and historian.
Playwright.
King of England
Queen of England and Ireland
Member of the
Member of
Musician and theatrical producer.
Wife of
Choirmaster and composer.
Clergyman and anti-theatrical polemicist.
Actor with the
Queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland
King of England and Ireland
King of England
Playwright and poet.
Musician and conspirator.
King of Scotland
Poet and playwright.
Writer and playwright.
Playwright and poet.
Playwright and poet.
Playwright.
Sheriff of London
Playwright.
Playwright and poet.
Historian and author of
Playwright and poet.
Archbishop of York
Bishop of Salisbury
Playwright.
Second Earl of Essex.
Playwright. Buried at St. Saviour (Southwark).
Actor with the
Queen consort of Scotland
The
The
Student contributors enrolled in
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The history of the two Blackfriars theatres is long and fraught with legal and political struggles. The story begins in
Still, these buildings must have been impressive, as over the course of three hundred years they were often used for important government functions. As This was a large church, and richly furniſhed with
Ornaments: wherein diuers Parliaments and other great méetings hath béene holden:
namely in the yeare
ſed of goodes and
lands
full, before whom thè
demned in the priminerie
Over time, however, what had once been a thriving community had dwindled to no more than sixteen or seventeen monks who relied on renting out empty rooms for income (Chambers 476). But while the Dominicans had withered, the Blackfriars precinct thrived. Since they no longer required large amounts of space, the monks started renting out their buildings as residences, and very quickly, it seems, Blackfriars became known as a desirable place to live. In the partition of spoils under the supervisions of the Court of Augmentations followed in due course
(476-77), and He was as well hable to keep the
(Chambers 477). Consequently, the Blackfriars precinct remained a semi-autonomous district, outside the jurisdiction and reach of London’s civic authorities.
The first Blackfriars theatre emerged after upper frater
—the same building where the Holy Roman Emperor, familiarize their students with colloquial Latin and to cultivate
, and eventually they provided entertainments for the court and the fondness
for boy companies (Shapiro 126). After taking the throne, she instituted the practice of celebrating Christmas and Shrovetide with
(Shapiro 126).
object in taking the house was to have a room in which the children could give public presentations for profit of the plays which they were afterwards to perform at Court
(Chambers 495-96), but the performances quickly took on a life of their own. His decision to locate his company in Blackfriars made sense for both legal and marketing reasons: of all the districts thus available to the actors, Blackfriars must have been the most attractive: the fact that many noblemen had their residence there made it one of the aristocratic sections of London, and the fact that it was near the centre of London
(Adams 77). Equally importantly, since Blackfriars was a pull down one partition and so make of two rooms—one
(qtd. in Smith 135). He does not say why he wants to tear down a wall.
Once pretended unto me to use the house only for the teaching of the
(transcribed in Smith 467), and that he had in the process ruined the building. At this point, she let the house to one
(Smith 467). The result was a tremendous amount of litigation that would continue until
While the anti-theatrical preacher and polemicist,
a great many Comedieswere performed
at the blacke friers(Gosson sig. D5r), scholars have identified only a small number:
The two plays by
Played beefore the Queenes Majestie, each also contains theby her Majesty’s Children and theChildren of Paul’s
Prologue at the Black Fryers(Lyly sig. A3r; Lyly sig. A2r).
Smaller playing areas meant less reliance on fencing and acrobatics, stable features of plays by adult troupes. Better acoustics allowed dramatists to call for subtler and more varied musical effects, a distinct advantage for choirboy companies, trained in signing and the playing of instruments
Sadly, however, property rights eventually triumphed over dramatic success. In
The first Blackfriars theatre closed in upper rooms
that once hosted the Children of the Chapel, first became a pipe office
(meaning, a records office) for England’s Exchequer (meaning, the national treasurer), and were later rented to William de Laune, Doctor of Physic
(Smith 156, 471). The room located below the playhouse was leased to a William Joyner, who turned it into a fencing school. Rocco Bonetti, one of the best fencing masters of Elizabethan England, subsequently bought the school and operated it until early
During the period that the Blackfriars space was not used for putting on plays, English drama became a major economic and artistic industry. The theatre became an institution. New playhouses were built
(Smith 158), such as the Rose in rogues
or sturdy beggars
unless they gained the patronage of a great person or peer or the realm. It is no accident that most of the theatres in this period were constructed outside of
were completely lawless and beyond the reach of authority. For example,
. See Kozusko for an exceptionally intelligent treatment of
Despite the hiatus in playing, the Blackfriars liberty remained an attractive place for a theatre, and a stubburne man
(qtd. in Edmond). During the litigation over the Theatre, his once-partner and brother-in-law, A paper which he might wype his tale with
(qtd. in Edmond). Despite the obvious obstacles,
(161). Somehow,
However, things did not go smoothly. Once his wealthy neighbors heard about his project, they sent a petition to the That whereas one
banished by the Lord Mayor from playing within the City
(explaining why all the other theatres were situated outside now think to plant themselves in
(transcribed in Smith 480). The petitioners then asked the Council to take order that the same rooms may be converted to some other use, and that no playhouse may be used or kept there
(Smith 480-81). The common playhouse
.
After the common playhouse
, he realized that the petitioners had in mind an adult company, such as those presently inhabiting The Theatre, The Swan, and The Red Bull.
While the second Blackfriars theatre may have had the same manager as the first, they would present a very different type of drama in a significantly reconfigured space. Upper Frater
. While there are no primary source documents telling us what exactly the theatre looked like, we can safely assume that this space was beautiful. According to the lease and the various documents produced by subsequent litigation, the theatre was also very small: 66 feet long 46 feet wide, considerably less than the outdoor, public
stages (Smith 165; Gurr 193). The theatre space itself was significantly altered from the first Blackfriars theatre. The stage had to be higher to accommodate the apparatus used in celestial flights
(Smith 167). In addition, the floor had two trap doors (the original had only one). However, the most important change concerned the seating. Whereas the audience in the first theatre sat on benches, the audience for the second Blackfriars theatre had a variety of options. The theatre’s patrons could, if they chose and if they could afford it, sit on the stage itself: The tiring-house provided separate and privileged access for up to fifteen gallants, who pad an extra sixpence for a stool so that they could view the play from the stage itself
(Gurr 194). Numerous plays, especially
wrapped around the stage(Gurr 195).
Admission prices at Blackfriars started at sixpence for entry to the topmost gallery. One more shilling purchased a space on a bench in the pit, and a seat on the stage cost about two shillings (Gurr 195; Aaron 88). The prices at the Globe, on the other hand, started at a penny, making the least expensive ticket at Blackfriars six times the price. The higher prices at Blackfriars helped make up for the smaller audience—the smaller theatre accommodated approximately 500 patrons, as opposed to the Globe’s 2000 (Aaron 88)—and they helped keep out the groundlings
, thus maintaining the Blackfriar’s elite reputation. Also, the prices reversed the convention for the public theatres, where the audience nearest the stage paid the least.
Just as with the first Blackfriars theatre, the intimacy of the space required a different style of playing and theatrical presentation. Whereas outdoor theatres, such as the Globe, could use loud instruments, such as drums and trumpets, the Blackfriars stage called for more subtle, quieter instruments, such as cornets or hautboys, the ancestor of the oboe (Gurr 192). At the Globe, plays were continuous, but at the Blackfriars, the new delicacies of expression
(Smith 249). But perhaps most importantly, the indoor theatre required candles for lighting, not sunshine (more on this below).
The theatre company that occupied the second Blackfriars theatre, the impress
children, meaning, he was authorized to take such and so many children as he or his sufficient deputy shall think meet [any place] with this our realm of England, whatsoever they be
(Smith 482).
But on influential gentleman
, they, the said confederates,
confederates
are and others yet
(Smith 484).was censured by the right honorable court of Star Chamber for his unorderly carriage and behavior in taking up gentlemen’s children against their wills
(qtd. in Smith 184). But other than this slap on the wrist, clearly the practice continued, and the young
The plays presented at the second Blackfriars theatre were enormously popular. One reason might be that the satire bred sensationalism, and sensationalism attracted crowds
(Smith 191). Essentially, the farther they crossed the line, the more popular, and even notorious, they became, and the more money the boys made for their managers.
The
inveighing against the state, the court, the law, the city, put into the mouths of child-actors, assuming that
their juniority to be a privilege for any railing, be it never so violent(qtd. in Smith 192). While the actors may have enjoyed a certain immunity, the writers did not. For writing
After the incident, the troupe found itself under the management of Robert Keysar, and managed to stay out of trouble until
the imprisonment of some of the players, as well as the
disbanding of the troupe, and the closing of the playhouse(Smith 193). This action put an end to the tenure of child actors at Blackfriars.
After these our servants, Lawrence Fletcher,
(Smith 244). Despite the earlier opposition, occasionally renewed but never successfully, were then dilapidated in various parts and unrepaired
(transcribed in Smith 517). Another reason might be an outbreak of the plague in
Starting in the earning capacity of Blackfriars was nearly two and a half times as great as that of the Globe
(Smith 263; see also Aaron 164-69).
Success, however, brought its own difficulties. In divers honorable persons
to the Lord Mayor of London over traffic problems:
We desire your Lordship and your brethren to help us to some remedy therein, that we may go to our houses in safety and enjoy the benefit of the streets without apparent danger, which now, we assure your Lordship, neither we that are inhabitants, nor any other of his Majesty’s subjects having occasion that way, either by land or water, can do; for such is the unruliness of some of the resorters to that house, and of coaches, horses and people of all sorts gathered together by that occasion in those narrow and crooked streets, that many hurts have heretofore been thereby done, and [we] fear it will at some time or other hereafter procure much more, if it be not by your wisdoms prevented.
There is daily so great resort of people, and so great multitude of coaches, whereof many are hackney coaches bringing people of all sorts, that sometimes all their streets cannot contain them, that they endanger one the other, break down stalls, throw down men’s goods from their shops, hinder the passage of the inhabitants there to and from their houses, let prevent] the bringing in of their necessary provisions , that the tradesmen and shopkeepers cannot utter their wares, nor the passengers go to the common water stairs without danger of their lives and limbs, whereby many times quarrels and effusion of blood hath followed, and the minister and people disturbed at the administration of the sacrament of baptism and public prayers in the afternoons.
as many coaches as may stand within the Blackfriars Gate may enter and stay there, or return thither at the end of the play
(transcribed in Smith 499). On the success of this order, the archives are silent.
Uproars and the potential for Captain Essex told his lord, they had payd for their places as well as hee, and therefore intreated him not to deprive them of the benefit of it. Whereupon the lord stood up yet higher and hindred more their sight. Then Capt. Essex with his hand putt him a little by. The lord then drewe his sword and ran full butt at him, though hee missed him, and might have slaine the Countesse as well as him.
Despite the occasional quarrel within the theatre, traffic congestion without, and the ongoing hostility of London’s authorities, the
However, there is incontrovertible evidence that at least some plays were performed at both venues. The title page of the
hath beene diverse times acted at the Globe and at the Blackfriars, and the title page of the
was presented Privately at the Blackfriars and publiquely at the Globe. Yet while the
I hate the Moor(Othello 1.3.717) would be delivered loudly at the Globe. At the Blackfriars, it could be delivered in almost a stage whisper, thus giving the line much more venom and force (Edelstein). Similarly, Ferdinand’s exclamation in
Damne her, that body of hers, / While that my blood ran pure in’t, was more worth / Then, that which thou wouldſt comfort, (call’d a ſoule)might be played as a rant at the Globe (Webster sig. I3r). The intimate space at the Blackfriars allowed for the actor to express much more psychological depth.
For all their success, the Whereas the distressed Estate of Ireland, steeped in her own Blood, and the distracted Estate of England, threatned with a Cloud of Blood, by a Civil Warre, call for all possible means to appease and avert the Wrath of God appearing in these Judgements; amongst which, Fasting and Prayer having bin often tried to be very effectuall, have bin lately, and are still enjoyed; and whereas publike Sports doe not well agree with publike Calamities, nor publike Stage-plays with the Seasons of Humiliation, this being an Exercise of sad and pious solemnity, and the other being Spectacles of pleasure, too commonly expressing lacivious Mirth and Levitie; It is therefore thought fit, and Ordeined by the Lords and Commons in this Parliament Assembled, that while these sad Causes and set times of Humiliation doe continue, publike State-Playes shall cease, and bee forborne.
long suffered in extreme want, being prohibited the use of their qualitie of Acting, in which they were trained up from their childhood, whereby they are uncapable of any other way to get subsistence, and are now fallen into such lamentable povertie, that they know not how to provide food for themselves, their wives and children
(qtd. in Smith 285-87). This appeal was denied. On
The recent interest in recovering the original conditions of playing in
In the event, the candles, in sconces on the pillars and in hanging candelabra as well as carried by individuals, are less consistently striking as illumination than for their effect on pace. Candles slow the production down, and candelabra lowered to waist height constrict the already small stage to some paths along the front and sides.
For another essay on the Blackfriars theatre, a modern map marking the site where the it once stood, and a walking tour that will take you to the site, visit the
See also Andrew Gurr and Farah Karim-Cooper’s essay collection,