Some basic information about the Tudor theatre



• The Tudors certainly didn’t invent acting – The Ancient Greeks and the Romans built theatres many years before the Tudors did – but they loved to watch plays and they helped to shape today’s plays and theatres.



• In the summer months, groups of actors from London would take a show on the road. They would load up wagons and carts with all of their costumes, scenery, props and a stage, and perform plays in town squares and inn-yards. The audience was sometimes charged a fee to watch the play, or a hat was passed around to collect money (a bit like buskers do today). Inns really liked having their inn-yard turned into a temporary theatre because they could sell food and drink to the audience. Some inns became full-time thea-tres with plays being performed on a regular basis.



• In Tudor times all of the actors were male. Female roles were played by boy’s whose voices had yet to break.



• In 1572, a law was passed in Parliament making it compulsory for all actors to have an acting licence and a lord as their supporter. As a result of this law, several acting groups (or companies) were set up. James Burbage started a a company called The Chamberlain’s Men (supported by the Lord Chamber-lain). Other groups included: The Lord Admiral’s Men, the Queen’s Men (supported by Elizabeth I herself), Lord Strange’s Men Acting Troupe and the Earl of Leicester’s Men.



• In 1576, James Burbage (an actor who was formerly a carpenter) built one of the first theatres in London. It was constructed north of London, beyond the city walls, and was called the Theatre.



• The rich boys who attended schools like St Paul’s and Chapel Royal set up their own acting group called the Paul’s Children. They performed about once a week on a stage near the old St Paul’s Cathedral, and regularly acted for Elizabeth I.