8-5OtherTheatres

**Shakespeare’s Other Theatres //Prepared by Austin R.// **

While William Shakespeare was in London, his plays were preformed at some of the major theatres of that time. Such theatres as //The Rose Theatre//, //The Swan Theatre//, //The Theatre//, //and the Blackfriars Theatre//; but, the theatre that his works are most famous is the //Globe Theatre//. These huge buildings brought people from all around England to enjoy the plays. Each one of them have very interesting histories that affected Shakespeare’s image as a playwright and a person. //The Rose// was built in 1587 by dyer and businessman Philip Henslowe. It was built on top of a rose garden (one the reasons why it’s called the Rose) on the Bankside near the south shore of the Thames River, in Surrey. The Rose property was a 400-foot alley, and Henslowe knew that people could ferry back and forth over the Thames, so he wanted to build it close to the river. When it was finished, the “Rose was round and elegant, solidly composed of brick and timber, and easily accessible, making it more sophisticated than the Theatre,” as said by Amanda Mabillard, author of //Shakespeare’s Theatres//. After 1592, the Rose became very popular, and many acting companies (groups of professional actors) were performing there, including the //Lord’s Strange Men//, Shakespeare’s acting company. During the plague of 1593, the Rose closed for a while; and when it reopened, Shakespeare’s acting company was replaced by //Sussex’s Men//, this is when it is belived that Shakespeare was looking for a job at //the Theatre//. After the Rose was suffering financially, the Rose closed down in 1605.

//The Swan// was built by Francis Langley in 1594, south of the Thames, fairly close to the Rose. The Swan was one of the biggest and most recognizable playhouses of the time, but its history was very short and only consisting of two facts. First, it was at the Swan that the acting company //Pembroke’s Men// preformed the infamous play, // The Isle of Dogs //, which was responsible for the government’s closure of all the playhouses in the summer of 1597. Second, the Swan is represented in the only known existing drawing of the inside of an Elizabethan theatre; often the drawing is mistaken for a drawing of the Globe because they are very similar. There is little history of the Swan after 1597, and in 1632 it was declared that the Swan was now “fallen to decay,” meaning that it closed down. Many scholars disagree that Shakespeare and his company never actually played there, they would perform there from time to time while they were looking for a permanent home.

The //Blackfriars// theatre was a combination of two theatres that located on the site of a 13th-century Dominican monastery. The name of the theatres derives from their location on the site of a 13th-century Dominican (the Black Friars) priory lying within the City of London between the River Thames and Ludgate Hill. The estates of the priory were split up in 1538 at the suppression of the English monasteries under //Henry VIII//, and in 1576, under //Elizabeth I//. Richard Farrant, Master of the Children of the Chapel, leased part of the buildings along the western side of the priory cloisters so that the children could present their plays in this “private” theatre before performing them at court. Other children's companies also acted there until 1584, when the buildings reverted to their owner. In 1596 another part of the old monastery was bought by James Burbage (the father of actor Richard Burbage), who converted it into a theatre. Richard Burbage, who was a principal actor with the //Lord Chamberlain's Men//, acted at the //Globe Theatre//. He inherited the second Blackfriars Theatre in 1597, and in 1608 he formed a company of “owners” (called housekeepers) along the lines of that operating at the Globe Theatre. The Blackfriars was forced to close on the outbreak of the //English Civil Wars// in 1642. It was demolished in 1655. Its site is today commemorated by //Playhouse Yard//. As you can see, Shakespeare’s theatres had interesting histories and very questioning stories; and Shakespeare’s theatres contribute a lot to his legacy, maybe even more than himself.

· Jokinen, Anniina. “The Blackfriars Theatre.” __Luminarium__.18 Dec. 2002. [April 16, 2009].  · N.A., N.A.. "Blackfriars Theatre." //Encyclopeadia Britannica's Guide to Shakespeare//. 2009. Web.16 Apr 2009. . · Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Swan Theatre." __Shakespeare Online__. 15 Dec. 2000. (April 16, 2009). · Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Theatres: The Rose." __Shakespeare Online__. 18 Dec. 2000. (April 16, 2009) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatre/therose.html >.
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