Features
Who were the patrons of the Elizabethan theatre? Who were Shakespeare's rivals among writers for the stage? We look at the birth of the Shakespeare industry, and trace the publication of the first ever edition of the plays
Patrons of Art
In these days of state-subsidised and Lottery-funded arts projects, it is easy to forget the extent to which artists and performers used to rely on patronage from private individuals. Just as painters were sustained in their careers by commissions from the wealthy (or so they hoped), so the theatre in the age of Elizabeth I and her successor James I was made possible by private initiative.
Shakespeare's Contemporaries
Although we see Shakespeare as the pinnacle of English theatre culture in the Elizabethan and Jacobean period, he wasn’t necessarily considered the favourite in his own time. Many of his works were highly acclaimed, but there were other playwrights of the day who found even greater favour with audiences, and whose work was in much demand.
Birth of the Shakespeare Industry
Shakespeare is big business. Bookshop shelves groan with biographies about the playwright and there is a dizzying amount of Bard merchandise on offer, from tea-towels to vodka. But where did this Shakespeare worship begin?
Bankside in Shakespeare's Day
Bankside, on the south bank of the Thames across from the City of London, was Elizabethan London’s entertainment hotspot. All those activities the city authorities had tried to suppress made their way here.
Indoor Playing
In 1596, the Theatre in Shoreditch was looking the worse for wear and the lease on the land was almost up; the Rose and the Swan were doing great business south of the river, and competition for audiences was fierce. James Burbage needed a gimmick. He came up with the idea of converting a building into a dedicated indoor playhouse.
Shakespeare on the Globe Stages
People at the Globe today often talk about performances there in terms of three factors, “the three A’s” – the interplay between these three determines the feel of a performance, and they are what make seeing a play at the Globe an experience unlike any you might have at another theatre. The three A’s are: Actor, Audience, Architecture. But all three of these exist in any theatre, so what’s special about the way they work together at the Globe?
