Inn-yard theatre
Encyclopedia
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.
is appropriately famous for the construction of the earliest permanent professional playhouses in Britain, starting with James Burbage
's The Theatre
in 1576
and continuing through the Curtain
(1577
), the Rose
, Swan
, Globe
and others — a development that allowed the evolution of the drama of Christopher Marlowe
, William Shakespeare
, Ben Jonson
and their contemporaries and successors. Prior to the building of The Theatre, plays were sometimes staged in public halls, the private houses of aristocrats, or royal palaces — but most often, and most publicly, they were acted in the courtyards of inns. (It is an often-stated truism of the critical literature that the open-air public theatres or amphitheatres of Burbage and his successors were modeled on the inn yards, with their surrounding balconies, open space in the center, and stage to one side.) Though the surviving documentary record is frustratingly limited, "it seems certain that some of the inn-yards were converted into something like permanent theatres." These venues did not cease operation once the first purposely-built theatres appeared in 1576–77; to the contrary, they remained in use and constituted an important aspect of Elizabethan drama.
John Florio's English-Italian phrase book First Fruits (1578
) refers to plays being staged at the Bull Inn. Richard Tarlton
saw the famous performing horse Marocco
at the Cross Keys Inn sometime before his death in 1588. In November 1589 the Lord Mayor of London
ordered Lord Strange's Men
not to perform in the city — and they promptly showed their defiance by acting at the Cross Keys that afternoon. There were at least six inns and taverns in London in this era that employed the sign of the Boar's Head, which caused scholars significant confusion before the matter was clarified by C. J. Sisson. John Brayne, who was involved in both the Red Lion
project and Burbage's Theatre, attempted to convert the George Inn in Whitechapel into a theatre in 1580, but was unsuccessful.
Queen Elizabeth's Men
were deliberately established as the premier playing company
of their day in 1583
; yet the royal charter that defined the troupe specified their venues for acting in London were two inn-yard theatres, the Bell Inn and the Bel Savage Inn.
The Lord Chamberlain's Men
used the Cross Keys Inn as their winter quarters for a time.
In his famous anti-theatre diatribe Histriomastix
(1632
), Puritan
polemicist William Prynne
recounts one of the classic urban legends
of his generation, which held that the Devil
was conjured up onstage during a performance of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
, an event so horrifying that several members of the audience lost their sanity. This manifestation allegedly occurred during a performance of the play at the Bel Savage Inn.
, who was responsible for entertaining the Queen and Court and found the actors a valuable resource for that task. In the crucial period of the development of Elizabethan drama, two Lords Chamberlain in succession, Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
(Lord Chamberlain from 1572 to 1585) and Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
(from 1585 to 1596) were noblemen who maintained their own troupes of players (Sussex's Men
and the Lord Chamberlain's Men
respectively), and who countered the attempts of the London authorities to suppress the drama.
This situation reversed in 1596, with the death of Lord Hunsdon and the selection of William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham
as Lord Chamberlain. Cobham was sympathetic to the London authorities and hostile to the players; under his influence the Privy Council
agreed to a prohibition of plays within the City of London
. The London authorities proceeded to "pull down" and "put down" all the "Play-houses" within their municipality. (Theatre owners like James Burbage and Philip Henslowe
wisely chose locations outside of city control.) A late report (from 1628) gives a somewhat defective and ambiguous list of the inn-theatres suppressed during 1596; but it seems clear that at least the Bull, the Bell, the Cross Keys, and the Bel Savage Inns were victimized.
, who returned to his father's policy of support and patronage for drama.
The remaining inn-yard theatres continued to function. The Boar's Head Inn was refurbished in 1598 and 1599, and the litigious theatre entrepreneur Francis Langley
was involved there for a time. In 1602, Worcester's Men
received official permission to become the third playing company permanently based in London; their first performing venue was the Boar's Head Inn. In 1604, an inn in Clerkenwell
was converted into the Red Bull Theatre
, which remained an important site for acting in the coming decades, and was finally abandoned only in 1660.
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
, an Inn-yard theatre or Inn-theatre was a common inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
that provided a venue for the presentation of stage plays.
Beginnings
The Elizabethan eraElizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
is appropriately famous for the construction of the earliest permanent professional playhouses in Britain, starting with James Burbage
James Burbage
James Burbage was an English actor, theatre impresario, and theatre builder in the English Renaissance theatre. He built The Theatre, the facility famous as the first permanent dedicated theatre built in England since Roman times...
's The Theatre
The Theatre
The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Shoreditch , just outside the City of London. It was the second permanent theatre ever built in England, after the Red Lion, and the first successful one...
in 1576
1576 in literature
-Events:*James Burbage builds The Theatre, the first permanent public playhouse in London, ushering in the great age of Elizabethan drama.-New books:*Jean Boudin - Six livres de la République*George Pettie - A Petite Palace of Pettie His Pleasure...
and continuing through the Curtain
Curtain Theatre
The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Curtain Close, Shoreditch , just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1622....
(1577
1577 in literature
-Events:*December 4 - San Juan de la Cruz is imprisoned at Toledo. During his imprisonment he composes his Spiritual Canticle.-New books:*Richard Eden - The History of Travayle in the West and East Indies*Thomas Hill - The Gardener's Labyrinth...
), the Rose
The Rose (theatre)
The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre , the Curtain , and the theatre at Newington Butts The Rose was an Elizabethan theatre. It was the fourth of the public theatres to be built, after The Theatre (1576), the Curtain (1577),...
, Swan
Swan Theatre
Swan Theatre may refer to:* The Swan , an Elizabethan playhouse* Swan Theatre , a theatre belonging to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England...
, Globe
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
and others — a development that allowed the evolution of the drama of Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
and their contemporaries and successors. Prior to the building of The Theatre, plays were sometimes staged in public halls, the private houses of aristocrats, or royal palaces — but most often, and most publicly, they were acted in the courtyards of inns. (It is an often-stated truism of the critical literature that the open-air public theatres or amphitheatres of Burbage and his successors were modeled on the inn yards, with their surrounding balconies, open space in the center, and stage to one side.) Though the surviving documentary record is frustratingly limited, "it seems certain that some of the inn-yards were converted into something like permanent theatres." These venues did not cease operation once the first purposely-built theatres appeared in 1576–77; to the contrary, they remained in use and constituted an important aspect of Elizabethan drama.
Culmination
The available evidence indicates that six London inns were significant sites for drama during the second half of the sixteenth century. The following list gives their locations and dates of earliest evidence as inn-theatres.- 1557 - the Boar's Head InnBoar's Head InnThe Boar's Head Inn may refer to a number of former taverns in London, of which the following are the most famous:* The Boar's Head Tavern, on Eastcheap, featured in historical plays of Shakespeare as a favourite of the fictional character Falstaff and his friends. It was the subject of essays by...
, WhitechapelWhitechapelWhitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
, "without AldgateAldgateAldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
" - 1557 - the Saracen's Head Inn, IslingtonIslingtonIslington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
- 1575 - the Bull Inn, BishopsgateBishopsgateBishopsgate is a road and ward in the northeast part of the City of London, extending north from Gracechurch Street to Norton Folgate. It is named after one of the original seven gates in London Wall...
Street - 1576 - the Bell Inn, Gracechurch StreetGracechurch StreetGracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....
- 1579 - the Bel Savage InnBell Savage InnThe Bell Savage Inn was a former public house in London, England, from the 15th century to 1873, originally located on the north side of what is now Ludgate Hill, in the City of London. It was a playhouse during the Elizabethan Era, as well as a venue for various other entertainments. It was also...
, Ludgate HillLudgate HillLudgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1780. Ludgate Hill is the site of St Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana. It is one of the three... - 1579 - the Cross Keys Inn, Gracechurch Street.
John Florio's English-Italian phrase book First Fruits (1578
1578 in literature
-Events:*Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga is sent on a mission to Zaragoza by King Philip II of Spain.-New books:*Diogo de Paiva de Andrada - Defensio Tridentinae Fidei...
) refers to plays being staged at the Bull Inn. Richard Tarlton
Richard Tarlton
Richard Tarlton , an English actor, was the most famous clown of his era.His birthplace is unknown, but reports of over a century later give it as Condover in Shropshire, with a later move to Ilford in Essex...
saw the famous performing horse Marocco
Marocco
Marocco , widely known as Bankes's Horse , was the name of a late 16th- and early 17th-century English performing horse...
at the Cross Keys Inn sometime before his death in 1588. In November 1589 the Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
ordered Lord Strange's Men
Lord Strange's Men
Lord Strange's Men was an Elizabethan playing company, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange . They are best known in their final phase of activity in the late 1580s and early 1590s...
not to perform in the city — and they promptly showed their defiance by acting at the Cross Keys that afternoon. There were at least six inns and taverns in London in this era that employed the sign of the Boar's Head, which caused scholars significant confusion before the matter was clarified by C. J. Sisson. John Brayne, who was involved in both the Red Lion
Red Lion (theatre)
The Red Lion was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Whitechapel , just outside the City of London...
project and Burbage's Theatre, attempted to convert the George Inn in Whitechapel into a theatre in 1580, but was unsuccessful.
Queen Elizabeth's Men
Queen Elizabeth's Men
Queen Elizabeth's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in English Renaissance theatre. Formed in 1583 at the express command of Queen Elizabeth, it was the dominant acting company for the rest of the 1580s, as the Admiral's Men and the Lord Chamberlain's Men would be in the decade that...
were deliberately established as the premier playing company
Playing company
In Renaissance London, playing company was the usual term for a company of actors. These companies were organized around a group of ten or so shareholders , who performed in the plays but were also responsible for management. The sharers employed "hired men" — that is, the minor actors and...
of their day in 1583
1583 in literature
-Events:*June 11 - Rivales, another Latin play by Gager, is acted by the students of Christ Church, Oxford. Rivales, criticized for its "filth," was never printed and does not survive; but was revived for two performances in 1592, one before Queen Elizabeth I of England.*June 12 - Dido, a play in...
; yet the royal charter that defined the troupe specified their venues for acting in London were two inn-yard theatres, the Bell Inn and the Bel Savage Inn.
The Lord Chamberlain's Men
Lord Chamberlain's Men
The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a playing company for whom Shakespeare worked for most of his career. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronised by James I.It was...
used the Cross Keys Inn as their winter quarters for a time.
In his famous anti-theatre diatribe Histriomastix
Histriomastix
Histriomastix: The Player's Scourge, or Actor's Tragedy is a critique of professional theatre and actors, written by the Puritan author and controversialist William Prynne....
(1632
1632 in literature
The year 1632 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*On February 14, Tempe Restored, a masque written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace....
), Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
polemicist William Prynne
William Prynne
William Prynne was an English lawyer, author, polemicist, and political figure. He was a prominent Puritan opponent of the church policy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Although his views on church polity were presbyterian, he became known in the 1640s as an Erastian, arguing for...
recounts one of the classic urban legends
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
of his generation, which held that the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
was conjured up onstage during a performance of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is a play by Christopher Marlowe, based on the Faust story, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for power and knowledge...
, an event so horrifying that several members of the audience lost their sanity. This manifestation allegedly occurred during a performance of the play at the Bel Savage Inn.
Crisis
The Lord Mayor and city authorities of London were consistently hostile to actors and theatrical performances, considering them a breeding ground for crime and civic disturbance; they made repeated attempts to suppress all theatrical activity within their jurisdiction. They were usually frustrated by the Lord ChamberlainLord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
, who was responsible for entertaining the Queen and Court and found the actors a valuable resource for that task. In the crucial period of the development of Elizabethan drama, two Lords Chamberlain in succession, Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
Thomas Radclyffe 3rd Earl of Sussex was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland during the Tudor period of English history, and a leading courtier during the reign of Elizabeth I.- Family:...
(Lord Chamberlain from 1572 to 1585) and Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, of Hunsdon was an English nobleman.He was the son of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn and also the mistress to King Henry VIII of England...
(from 1585 to 1596) were noblemen who maintained their own troupes of players (Sussex's Men
Sussex's Men
The Earl of Sussex's Men was a playing company or troupe of actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, most notable for their connection with the early career of William Shakespeare.-First phase:...
and the Lord Chamberlain's Men
Lord Chamberlain's Men
The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a playing company for whom Shakespeare worked for most of his career. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronised by James I.It was...
respectively), and who countered the attempts of the London authorities to suppress the drama.
This situation reversed in 1596, with the death of Lord Hunsdon and the selection of William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham
William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham
William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and a Member of Parliament for Hythe. Although he was viewed by some as a religious radical during the Somerset protectorate, he entertained Elizabeth at Cobham Hall in 1559, signalling his acceptance of the moderate regime.His...
as Lord Chamberlain. Cobham was sympathetic to the London authorities and hostile to the players; under his influence the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
agreed to a prohibition of plays within the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. The London authorities proceeded to "pull down" and "put down" all the "Play-houses" within their municipality. (Theatre owners like James Burbage and Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe
Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance London...
wisely chose locations outside of city control.) A late report (from 1628) gives a somewhat defective and ambiguous list of the inn-theatres suppressed during 1596; but it seems clear that at least the Bull, the Bell, the Cross Keys, and the Bel Savage Inns were victimized.
Reprieve
Fortunately for Elizabethan drama and English literature, Lord Cobham died in March 1597; the office of Lord Chamberlain was then filled by George Carey, 2nd Baron HunsdonGeorge Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon
George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon KG was the eldest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Anne Morgan. His father was first cousin to Elizabeth I of England....
, who returned to his father's policy of support and patronage for drama.
The remaining inn-yard theatres continued to function. The Boar's Head Inn was refurbished in 1598 and 1599, and the litigious theatre entrepreneur Francis Langley
Francis Langley
Francis Langley was a theatre builder and theatrical producer in Elizabethan era London. After James Burbage and Philip Henslowe, Langley was the third significant entrepreneurial figure active at the height of the development of English Renaissance theatre.-Background:Langley was a goldsmith by...
was involved there for a time. In 1602, Worcester's Men
Worcester's Men
The Earl of Worcester's Men was an acting company in Renaissance England. An early formation of the company, wearing the livery of William Somerset, 3rd Earl of Worcester, is among the companies known to have toured the country in the mid-sixteenth century...
received official permission to become the third playing company permanently based in London; their first performing venue was the Boar's Head Inn. In 1604, an inn in Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
was converted into the Red Bull Theatre
Red Bull Theatre
The Red Bull was a playhouse in London during the 17th century. For more than four decades, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the northern suburbs, developing a reputation for rowdy, often disruptive audiences...
, which remained an important site for acting in the coming decades, and was finally abandoned only in 1660.