Download Ben Button and the World of the Elizabethan Theatre

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BEN BUTTON AND THE WORLD OF THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE
England in Tudor times – the 1500s – would seem a very different place from the
country we know to-day. Perhaps you have already learned about that period at
school, and about Queen Elizabeth the First, who came to the throne in 1558
aged 25. Elizabeth was the last Tudor ruler – but perhaps the greatest. She was
a clever woman who spoke many languages and loved poetry, music and plays.
And it was during her reign that a most important event in our cultural history
occurred: the building of the first permanent theatre.
It may surprise you to know that, before 1576, there were no theatres in England.
Actors – ‘players’ as they were called – travelled about the country in troupes
performing wherever they could: on village greens, in great houses, or inn yards.
It was a precarious, and at times a dangerous life. They could be arrested as
vagrants (homeless people), and even imprisoned. Sometimes the company
would be turned away from a town, but at another they might be welcomed and
allowed to perform their plays, comedies and short pieces called ‘interludes’.
Even so, players were not considered respectable. After a law passed in 1572
they needed the patronage, or official approval, of a nobleman. Then they could
produce a paper signed by their patron – an Earl, for example – saying they were
his servants and had his permission to travel.
One of the best acting companies of the time was the Earl of Leicester’s Men.
The Earl, one of the richest men in England, had known the Queen since she
was a girl, and wanted to marry her (though in fact, she never married anyone).
In 1575 he invited her to a great entertainment, the Princely Pleasures, on his
estate at Kenilworth in the Midlands, with games, dancing and feasting, and of
course his players performed too. Their leader, James Burbage, besides being a
player, was also a master carpenter. Perhaps encouraged by the Queen, he and
his company came to London. Nobody knows exactly how, but Burbage had a
bold new idea: to rent some land, and build a permanent performing place on it.
Here, instead of passing a hat round the players could charge admission, store
their props and costumes – and protect themselves from the rain too!
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Burbage’s theatre opened in 1576, in Shoreditch just north of the city. It was
called simply The Theatre - because it was the only one. It was a great success,
and marked the start of one of the most exciting and important periods of English
Drama (which would last for over 60 years, until the Civil War broke out). Other
theatres were built later, with names like the Curtain, the Swan and the Globe.
The original foundations of one of them, the Rose, were discovered in 1989 near
Blackfriars Bridge, and more recently parts of the Globe foundations too. (You
can find out more on Elizabethan Theatre from websites listed on the last page).
These theatres weren’t much like any that we know to-day. They were circular,
with a wooden frame like most Tudor buildings, and a thatched roof over the
stage and the galleries where people could sit, though they had to pay extra for
that. Most of the audience (called ‘groundlings’) stood in a big open space in
front of the stage (the ‘yard’) which cost them a penny (roughly equal to £10 in
to-day’s money). The theatres were often noisy and crowded, and could be
rough places. The yard was open to the sky, so if it rained the groundlings got
wet. In those days players performed in daylight, during the afternoons. It would
have been very risky to perform at night, by the light of torches. Fire was always
a serious danger in a city where most buildings were of wood and thatch – and in
fact the Globe Theatre burned down during a performance, in 1613. (Luckily
everyone got out safely, and it was soon rebuilt). To-day there is a famous
reconstruction of the Globe, on London’s South Bank, where you can watch a
performance standing in the yard, just as audiences did 400 years ago.
So – what were the acting companies like, who performed in those days? For
one thing, the players had to have very good memories: they carried the lines for
several plays in their heads at once, and could be called upon to perform any
one at short notice. It was a fast-moving business, and highly competitive. There
were quite a lot of companies, like Lord Strange’s Men, and the Lord Admiral’s
Men led by the great actor Edward Alleyn. The Queen had her own company
too. Burbage’s company, the Earl of Leicester’s, became the Lord Chamberlain’s
Men. William Shakespeare was one of them, soon to be the greatest playwright,
while their leading actor was James Burbage’s son, Richard.
And every company had several boy actors, who were very important. Why?
Because there were no actresses – all female roles were taken by boys!
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It may seem wrong to us to-day, but in Tudor times women had very few rights.
Most types of work were not open to them, including performing. So in the
theatre, boys played not only supporting parts but all the female ones - including
starring roles like Juliet, Cleopatra or Lady Macbeth. These boys were usually
between the ages of about 12-15, though some were older. It must have been a
very demanding life, harsh at times, for they were subjected to strict discipline.
They had to perform on a big, open stage in front of thousands of people, and
were expected to do things like singing, dancing, and perhaps playing an
instrument too. What’s more the companies still toured away from London,
usually in the summer months. And even though they might perform in grand
country houses where they were given a meal and a bed, it was still a hard life
for players, travelling on foot in all weathers.
I studied Elizabethan Theatre at University, and was very impressed with the boy
actors of those days. When I began writing books for young readers, I decided
my first hero would be a boy player. Of course Ben Button is a fictional character,
and his company Lord Bonner’s Men is fictional too. But it’s based on companies
that really existed, and Ben’s life is as similar to that of a boy performer of his
time as I can make it – apart perhaps from the hair-raising adventures he has!
I hope you enjoy reading them.
SUGGESTED BOOKS:
Shakespeare’s Theatre, written and illustrated by C. Walter Hodges (published
by the Oxford University Press).
The Story of the Elizabethan Boy Actors, by Katherine Hudson, illustrated by
Robert Micklewright (also Oxford University Press).
WEBSITES:
Go to the Usborne Quicklinks website at www.usborne-quicklinks.com . Click on
Fabulous Fiction, and then on any of the Elizabethan Mysteries titles to find lots
of interesting sites. You might also like to try the following:
www.tudorhistory.org
www.elizabethi.org
www.shakespeares-globe.org
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Queen Elizabeth the First
William Shakespeare
The actor Richard Burbage
Drawing of the Swan Theatre
© John Pilkington 2009