Abstract
I start with the circumstantial evidence. The first year that the professional companies ever had specific amphitheatre playhouses in London to work in was 1594. Before that, they expected to live an essentially transient life, moving from one playing space to another. The Queen's Men, between 1583 and 1594, are recorded as playing at just about every location there was in London, three inns, and three suburban playhouses. On November 28, 1583, a city permit allowed them to perform, “at the sygnes of the Bull in Bushoppesgate streete, and the sygne of the Bell in Gratioustreete and nowheare els within this Cyttye.” The Bull is confirmed as one of their venues inTarlton's Jests. They also were playing at the Theatre in about 1584 (Nashe reported them there inPierce Penilesse, I.197, referring to Gabriel Harvey'sSaturn and Jupiter, of 1583: “one in mockage threw him in this theame, he playing then at the Curtaine”). Finally, one of the two divided Queen's Men's groups played at the Rose early in 1594. The Queen's was the most uniquely privileged of companies, over whom the Lord Chamberlain fought with the Lord Mayor in 1584 to secure the right for that one company to use the city's inns. If it moved so thoroughly between playhouses, all the others must have done the same.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
