The first playhouse, the Red Lion, was built in by John Brayne. He converted the Red Lion Inn, in Stepney, outside the city walls. There is little evidence of how successful it was, but the demand must have been there, because many more playhouses opened between the s and the s.
In Brayne and James Burbage built the Theatre, just outside the city walls. Newington Butts theatre was built to the south in the same year. In the Curtain was built near the Theatre. After this, five more theatres were built and companies also performed regularly in the yards of several London inns.
Not all theatres had performances of plays regularly and some theatres were also used for other types of entertainment. For another penny, the audience were allowed into the galleries where they either stood or, for a third penny, could procure a stool. One of the galleries, though sources do not state which, was divided into small compartments that could be used by the wealthy and aristocrats.
History The Theatre opened in the autumn of , possibly as a venue for Leicester's Men, the acting company of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester of which James Burbage was a member. In the s the Admiral's Men, of which James Burbage's son, Richard was a member, took up residence. After a disagreement between the company and young Burbage broke out, most of the company left for the Rose Theatre which was under the management of Philip Henslowe.
In , Richard Burbage became the leading actor of the Lord Chamberlain's Men which performed here until Poet, playwright and actor William Shakespeare was also in the employ of the Company here and some of his his early plays, possibly including an early version of Hamlet the so-called Ur-Hamlet were premiered here.
Foundation of the Globe Towards the end of , problems arose with the property's landlord, one Giles Allen. In consequence, in , the Lord Chamberlain's Men were forced to stop playing at the Theatre and moved to the nearby Curtain.
It had features similar to those of the future Globe playhouse and other playhouses of the day, such as galleries, upper rooms, a tiring house, and trap doors in the stage floor. Like the Globe, the Theatre had two external staircases, standing on either side of the building, and leading up to the galleries.
Those people who watched from the main "yard" surrounded by the comfortable covered galleries, were forced to stand during the entire performance. The Theatre was home to many acting companies, but was used primarily by Shakespeare's acting troupe, the Chamberlain's Men, after Unfortunately, the Theatre fell victim to government censorship, due to the production of Thomas Nashe's "seditious" play Isle of Dogs that prompted all of the London theatres to be closed for the summer of The Theatre did not reopen, and was dismantled by the carpenter Peter Street in , forcing the Chamberlain's Men to find another home.
References Bentley, Gerald Eades. Admission to the open-air amphitheatres cost one old penny, and they catered more for the citizenry. Admission to the indoor halls cost six old pennies, and they were frequented by the court and gentry. The Swan and the Globe. Visscher, Londinum Florentissima Britanniae Urbs , British Library, Maps C. Larger image. It was an open-air amphitheatre, with three tiers of galleries and a covered stage. After the lease on the site expired in , the Burbages dismantled the Theatre and in rebuilt it as the Globe.
The Curtain was built just south of the Theatre in , and was similar in construction. The Curtain was still being used for performances in the s. It was an open-air amphitheatre, with three tiers of galleries but smaller than either the Swan or the Globe. Henslowe increased the size of the Rose in and may, at the same time, have had the stage covered.
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