The Curtain, in use from 1577 until 1625, has probably the longest of lifespan of all early modern playhouses, yet it had for some time been ‘the most ignored of the early modern London amphitheatres’ (Stern 2009, 77-78).
For this piece, I’ll be spending a year in the young Curtain playhouse as it makes its way into the brave new decade of 1580s.
On Saturday 21st, we enjoyed seeing the puffed-up knight Huanebango being struck down by a disembodied voice, entering a sixteenth-century smoking area, meeting the cosmopolitan neighbours of 1580s Shoreditch, and learning how to use a sword and buckler...
On 21 July, we and MOLA, The Stage, and The Dolphin's Back will explore the history and future possibilities for the Curtain playhouse with a public audience at Hackney House. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.