Today in 1592 the Rose Theater opened in London. It was the fourth of the public theaters to be opened in London as the popularity of plays grew, and it was the first to be based in Southwark, outside the jurisdiction of the City of London. It was built by Philip Henslowe, and was the first theater to publicly perform any of Shakespeare’s plays.
In may of 1591 the Lord Admiral’s men, a company of actors, split off from the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which had included Richard Burbage, the most famous actor of the age. The playwright Christopher Marlowe became their main playwright. But the period from 1592-1594 was tough for theaters as a severe plague outbreak meant that public spaces were closed for almost the entire period until 1594. By the summer of 1594 the plague had run its course, and theater companies reorganized themselves after seeing some members die, and others find other work to sustain themselves during the closures. The Lord Admiral’s Men were based at the Rose Theater for seven years, performing dozens of new plays, hundreds of times a year.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com, where there is a series on Elizabethan Theater.
Suggested links:
Episode 44: Elizabethan Theater
The Theater Part III: The Other Major Players Who Aren’t Named Shakespeare
From the shop:
Shakespeare Love Mug
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.