Curtain Theatre

Coordinates: 51°31′23″N 0°4′47″W / 51.52306°N 0.07972°W / 51.52306; -0.07972
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the Glasgow theatre company of the 1930s, see Curtain Theatre (Glasgow).

Curtain Theatre
Map
Address18 Hewett Street
London
England
Years active1577–1622?
The Curtain Theatre is labelled in the top right of this London street map. Enlarge

The Curtain Theatre was an

Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch (within the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1624.[1]

The Curtain was built some 200 yards (180 m) south of London's first playhouse,

Bacchus
.

History

1599 print showing what may be the Curtain Theatre, although this could be a depiction of the Theatre, the other Elizabethan theatre in Shoreditch at that time

The Curtain Theatre was built in 1577 in

Gabriel Spencer in a duel in nearby Hoxton Fields
.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men departed the Curtain when the

Thomas Pope, one of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, owned a share in the Curtain and left it to his heirs in his last will and testament in 1603. King's Men member John Underwood did the same in 1624.[4]: 63 [8] The fact that both of these shareholders belonged to Shakespeare's company may indicate that the re-organization of the Curtain occurred when the Lord Chamberlain's Men were acting there. Otherwise, it would be very unwise of Burbage to pool profits if he did better in the first place. Thus, the suggestion is given that both proprietors were doing equal business. Burbage's father James had shares in the theatre at the time of his death.[9]
: 144 

The London theatres, including the Curtain, were closed for much of the period from September 1592 to April 1594 due to the

Privy Council tried unsuccessfully to shut down the Curtain theatre,[4] and in 1603, the Curtain became the playhouse of Queen Anne's Men (formerly known as Worcester's Men, and formerly at the Rose Theatre, where they'd played Heywood's A Woman Kill'd With Kindness in February of that year).[4]: 64  In 1607, The Travels of the Three English Brothers, by Rowley, Day, and Wilkins
, was performed at the Curtain.

The Curtain was in use from 1577 until at least 1624, after which its ultimate fate is obscure as there is no record of it after 1627. The reasons for its closure are not known.

Site and rediscovery

Museum of London Archaeology excavation, 2016
The Curtain Theatre during excavation

The Curtain was believed to have been built near The Theatre, but the exact location was for many years unknown.[12][13] However, a commemorative plaque was erected at 18 Hewett Street.[4]: 62 [14]

In 2012, archaeologists from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) announced that they had discovered the remains of the theatre during trial excavations.[15][16] In 2013 plans were submitted to develop the site with a 40-storey tower of 400 apartments, plus a Shakespeare museum, 250-seat outdoor auditorium and park, with the archaeological remains visible in a glass enclosure.[17]

In May 2016, excavators announced that the theatre was probably an adaptation of an existing structure, in the form of a rectangle measuring 22×25 metres, rather than being round or polygonal.[3] Walls survived up to 1.5 metres (5 ft) high in places; MOLA identified the courtyard, where theatregoers stood, and the inner walls, which held the galleries.[18] The theatre had timber galleries with mid and upper areas for wealthier audience members, and a courtyard made from compacted gravel for those with less to spend.[19] The galleries were straight.[3]

Also uncovered was a fragmentary ceramic bird whistle, dating from the late 16th century. This raised the question of whether the bird whistle was merely a Tudor toy or a prop for plays that needed sound effects.[20] In November 2016, a tunnel structure – accessed by doors on either end of the stage – was unearthed, which would have allowed actors to exit from one side and come on again from the other without being seen by the audience.[21] Fragments of ceramic money boxes were found, which would have been used to collect entry fees from theatregoers, before being taken to an office to be smashed and the money counted: this office was known as the "box office", which is the origin of the term we use today.[22]

Glass beads and pins were unearthed along with drinking vessels and clay pipes.[23] The team also came across a mount and a token,[24] as well as personal items, including a bone comb.[25]

In August 2019 the structural remains and below-ground deposits were designated a

Scheduled Monument.[3] The high-rise residential tower block on the site is named "The Stage"; and the two adjacent low-rise office blocks "The Bard" and "The Hewett".[26]

In popular culture

A reconstruction of the Curtain Theatre features in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love.[27]

The theatre is also featured as the main setting for the jukebox musical & Juliet, which takes place during the first performance of Romeo and Juliet.

See also

Notes

  1. ISBN 9780198122463
    .
  2. ^ Joseph Quincy Adams, Shakespearean Playhouses, Boston, 1917, p. 76.
  3. ^ a b c d e "The Curtain Playhouse". historicengland.org.uk. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781907586125
    .
  5. ^ E. K. Chambers, The Elizabethan Stage volume III, Oxford, 1923, p. 359.
  6. ISBN 978-0415319652
    . Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  7. ^ William Ingram, The Business of Playing: The Beginnings of the Adult Professional Theater in Elizabethan London, Cornell University Press, 1992, p. 222.
  8. ^ Chambers, Vol. 2, p. 403.
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780217290210
    . Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  10. ^ Chambers 1930, pp. 44–7.
  11. ISBN 0521526159
    .
  12. ^ "The Curtain". Shakespeare Online. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Curtain Elizabethan Theatre". Elizabethan Era Online. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  14. ^ "The Curtain Theatre". London Borough of Hackney. 28 February 2007. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Remains of Shakespeare's Curtain Theatre discovered in Shoreditch" (Press release). Museum of London Archaeology. 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  16. ^ Kennedy, Maev (5 June 2012). "Shakespeare's Curtain theatre unearthed in east London". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  17. ^ "Curtain lifts on open-air stage at Shakespeare theatre site in Shoreditch". Evening Standard. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  18. ^ Bishop, Rachel (18 May 2016). "500-year-old Romeo And Juliet prop found in dig at Shakespeare's Curtain Theatre". mirror. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  19. ^ Broadbent, Giles (15 November 2016). "Will theatre revelations shed light on Shakespeare's secrets?". thewharf. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  20. ^ Furness, Hannah (18 March 2016). "Bird whistle from first Romeo and Juliet". The Daily Telegraph.
  21. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  22. ^ Loeb, Josh (10 November 2016). "Mysteries unearthed in Shoreditch excavation of Shakespeare's Curtain Theatre". Hackney Citizen. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  23. ^ "Shakespeare clues found after Shoreditch exacerbation". Evening Standard. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  24. ^ "Archaeologists reveal initial findings from detailed excavation at Shakespeare's Curtain Theatre – HeritageDaily – Heritage & Archaeology News". Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  25. ^ "Shakespeare Curtain Theatre: Remains reveal toy used for sound effects". BBC News. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  26. ^ "The Stage.Ldn, Shoreditch". The Stage.Ldn, Shoreditch. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  27. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata

References

External links

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