About the project
Before Shakespeare
Before Shakespeare explores the beginnings of playhouses and theatrical culture in England. We champion an expansive and collaborative theatre history: join us to think about how and why we can learn about our theatrical past via a range of approaches, from social history to twenty-first century performance.
Our project was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council from 2016 to 2018, and our work continues to explore fundamental questions about the origins of the theatre industry:
Playhouses
How and why did commercial playhouses come to open in London in the sixteenth century?
Terminology
Is it right to call these playhouses “permanent,” “purpose-built,” or even the “first” theatres? How unique is England’s 1570s theatre scene and how does it compare with antiquity or with contemporary Europe?
Origins
What happens when we concentrate on the beginnings of playhouses, in the early years of Elizabeth’s reign, rather than seeing them as late sixteenth-century phenomena?
Plays
What can we learn about and from some of the extraordinary plays written before 1595 but less famous, today, than Shakespeare’s works? And about and from non-dramatic performance activities?
Why are we doing this?
Narratives about early modern drama continue to suggest that playhouses emerged with the “first” amphitheatre in 1576. We’re interested in going back to the beginnings of a number of playing spaces, to challenge the assumption that 1576 was a fixed starting point. We also want to look at the range of spaces that qualified as playhouses—from inns like the Cross Keys and Bel Savage to small interior spaces like St Paul’s or Blackfriars. We’re so used to seeing this period of theatre through a Shakespearean lens (conjuring up images of the Globe) that it’s easy to forget that Elizabethans had a rather diverse sense of what a playhouse was—and what you would go to see when you visited.
What can you find on our site?
This website includes years’ of resources, blogs, and conversations about sixteenth-century theatrical culture. It includes first-hand research-in-progress reports, images and transcriptions of archival documents, and performance reviews of plays to commentary on authorship. We are also working with theatremaker Emma Frankland on her production of John Lyly’s brilliant play, Galatea (1584). Visit our blog categories below to find out more:
More about the project ...
Please be in touch with us if you have any questions or would like to know more