Shakespeare and the Theatre

Jane Shuter

Description

Did you know that the only known purpose-built theatres in Shakespeare's England were in London and Bristol? Or that only boys and men could become actors? This fascinating book outlines the world of the theatre in which William Shakespeare wrote and did business, from outdoor and indoor theatres and the life of an actor and touring, to how plays were written, funded, and staged.

Informations

• Publié par: Capstone Global Library
• Date de parution: 30 janvier 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781406273403
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

Shakespeare Alive

Shakespeare and the Theatre

Jane Shuter

Raintree is an imprint of Capstone Global Library Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales having its registered office at 7 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6LB – Registered company number: 6695582

www.raintreepublishers.co.uk [e-mail]

Text © Capstone Global Library Limited 2014 First published in hardback in 2014 Paperback edition first published in 2015 The moral rights of the proprietor have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS (www.cla.co.uk). Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission should be addressed to the publisher.

Edited by Andrew Farrow and Abby Colich Designed by Steve Mead Original illustrations © Capstone Global Library Ltd 2014 Illustrated by HL Studios Picture research by Elizabeth Alexander Production by Victoria Fitzgerald Originated by Capstone Global Library Ltd Printed and bound in China by Leo Paper Group

ISBN 978 1 406 27332 8 (hardback) 17 16 15 14 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Shuter, Jane Shakespeare and the Theatre. – (Shakespeare Alive) A full catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce photographs: Alamy: pp. 7 (© The Bridgeman Art Library Ltd), 8 (© Greg Balfour Evans); 17 (© Hilary Morgan), 50 (© Felipe Trueba); American Shakespeare Center’s production of Much Ado About Nothing featuring Aiden O’Reilly, Gregory

Jon Phelps and Chris Johnston: p. 33 (Photo by Tommy Thompson, 2012); The Bridgeman Art Library: pp. 18 (Private Collection), 35 (© Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK), 37 (© Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK), 41 (© Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK), 44 (Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands); © David Cooper. With kind permission of the Governors of Dulwich College. Dulwich College MS 19: p. 52; THE KOBAL COLLECTION / SPARHAM, LAURIE: p. 47 (MIRAMAX FILMS/ UNIVERSAL PICTURES); Reproduced by permission of the Marquess of Bath, Longleat House, Warminster, Wiltshire, Great Britain: p. 54; Shakespeare’s Globe: pp. 21 (photograph by Andy Bradshaw, 2008), 22 (photograph by Pete Le May), 27, 31 (CGI by Allies and Morrison), 39 (photograph by John Tramper, 2012), 49 (photograph by John Tramper, 2006), 56 (photograph by Pete Le May); Shutterstock: pp. 2425 (© Natutik); TopFoto.co.uk: pp. 13 (TopFoto.co.uk), 14 (TopFoto.co.uk), 55 top (Johan Persson / ArenaPAL), 55 bottom (Johan Persson / ArenaPAL); Utrecht, University Library, Ms. 842, fol. 132r: p. 29.

Design features: Shutterstock: (© Rstudio), (© Tribalium), (© tkada).

Cover photograph ofOthelloat Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, Great Britain May 11, 2007, reproduced with permission from TopFoto. co.uk (Elliott Franks / ArenaPAL).

We would like to thank Farah KarimCooper for her invaluable help in the preparation of this book.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publisher.

All the Internet addresses (URLs) given in this book were valid at the time of going to press. However, due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, some addresses may have changed, or sites may have changed or ceased to exist since publication. While the author and publisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers, no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher.

Contents

Shakespeare’s England ................................. 4 Who went to the theatre? .......................... 12 Outdoor theatres ....................................... 20 Indoor theatres........................................... 30 Who ran the theatres? ................................ 34 What was it like to be an actor? ................. 38 Writing plays.............................................. 46 How did you put on a play? ....................... 52 Useful information ..................................... 58 Glossary ..................................................... 61 Find out more ............................................ 63 Index.......................................................... 64

Some words are shown in bold,like this. You can find out what they mean by looking in the glossary.

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Shakespeare’s England

William Shakespeare is famous

for his plays, written from about

1590 to 1614. He was born in

StratforduponAvon, Warwickshire,

but worked mainly in London where

the newly setup theatres were. This

book looks at the world of the theatre

in his time. However, to understand

Shakespeare and his work we need

to understand the world he lived in.

Society in England in Shakespeare’s

time was very different from modern

society. One big difference is that most

people believed strongly in the idea of

a social order.

What was the “social order”? The social order was a pyramid of wealth and power with a ruler at the top and very poor people at the bottom. Everyone knew his or her place in the social order, and therightsand dutiesof that place. Everything about them, from their work to how they dressed and what they ate, reflected

their place. England’s king or queen had

the right to be obeyed by everyone in

the country. The ruler’s duty was to run

the country well. Anapprenticewho

was learning a trade had a duty to obey

his master. His master had a duty to

teach the apprentice a trade, house him,

and provide his food and clothes.

KINGS/QUEENS LORDS/NOBLES KNIGHTS/GENTLEMEN

Above this line, people were allowed to carry a sword and have a coat of arms.

CITIZENS AND BURGESSES important and rich townspeople often involved in local government

MERCHANTS, SKILLED CRAFTSMEN, YEOMEN (who owned their farms) Most were well off, some were rich

Below this line, people owned no land or houses.

SHOPKEEPERS, TRADERS, CRAFTSMEN, TENANT FARMERS (who rented their farms) most lived comfortably, some were well off

THE POOR the bestoff worked, e.g, servants, labourers, miners. The worstoff had no work so they begged

This diagram shows the social order in Shakespeare’s time. In 1596, Shakespeare applied for a coat of arms for his father, moving him from citizen andburgessto the rank ofgentleman.

Shakespeare’s father was a craftsman, and the most usual work for the sons of

craftsmen was to follow their fathers in the same trade or become apprenticed

to another craftsman.

The countryside In Shakespeare’s time, about 75 per cent of people lived in the countryside, in villages, or in small towns. Most people worked in farming. Because the wool trade made a lot of money, many farmers had changed from farming crops to keeping sheep for wool. Many farmworkers lost their jobs, and the homes that

went with them, and had to look for work elsewhere. But there was not much

work. This situation was made worse by the growing population. For the first

time in living memory, it was possible to be out of work not because you didn’t

want a job, but because there were no jobs. People moved around looking

for work. Shakespeare was one of many who left his family home to work

somewhere else.

Thenobilityandgentryhad homes and land in the countryside, even if

they also had a house in a large town. Land showed how well off you were.

People who made money bought land; it made you someone to look up to.

Shakespeare bought land when he could afford it, as did many of the people

he worked with.

I was there… Grain, not sheep In 1597, the government passed a law in favour of the growing of crops rather than keeping sheep for wool. Robert Cecil, Queen Elizabeth I’s most important adviser, made notes about the reasons for the law. Here is a modernized extract:

A few people getting richer, the rest poorer. If people farm crops it will reduce unemployment, drunkenness and vice. It will reduce the swarms of poor, unemployed, wandering people that are a misery to themselves and a danger to the government. It will save the government from having to rely on buying grain from other countries.

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