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{{Short description|Theatre of England between 1558 and 1642}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
[[File:The Swan cropped.png|thumb|205px|A 1596 sketch of a rehearsal in progress on the [[thrust stage]] of [[The Swan (theatre)|The Swan]], a typical circular [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] open-roof playhouse]]
{{Reformationliterature |expanded=british}}

The '''English Renaissance theatre''' or '''Elizabethan theatre''' was the theatre of England from 1558 to 1642. Its most prominent playwrights were [[William Shakespeare]], [[Christopher Marlowe]] and [[Ben Jonson]].

==Background==
The term ''English Renaissance theatre'' encompasses the period between 1562—following a performance of [[Gorboduc (play)|''Gorboduc'']], the first English play using [[blank verse]], at the [[Inner Temple]] during the Christmas season of 1561—and the ban on theatrical plays enacted by the English Parliament in 1642.

In a strict sense "Elizabethan" only refers to the period of [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth's]] reign (1558–1603). ''English Renaissance theatre'' may be said to encompass ''Elizabethan theatre'' from 1562 to 1603, ''[[James VI and I|Jacobean]] theatre'' from 1603 to 1625, and ''[[Charles I of England|Caroline]] theatre'' from 1625 to 1642.

Along with the economics of the profession, the character of the drama changed towards the end of the period. Under Elizabeth, the drama was a unified expression as far as social class was concerned: the Court watched the same plays the commoners saw in the public playhouses. With the development of the private theatres, drama became more oriented towards the tastes and values of an upper-class audience. By the later part of the reign of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], few new plays were being written for the public theatres, which sustained themselves on the accumulated works of the previous decades.{{sfn|Gurr|2009|pp=12–18}}

==Sites of dramatic performance==

===Grammar schools===
The English [[grammar school]]s, like those on the continent, placed special emphasis on the ''[[trivium]]'': grammar, logic, and [[rhetoric]]. Though rhetorical instruction was intended as preparation for careers in civil service such as law, the rhetorical canons of memory (''[[memoria]]'') and delivery (''[[pronuntiatio]]''), gesture and voice, as well as exercises from the ''[[progymnasmata]]'', such as the ''[[prosopopoeia]]'', taught theatrical skills.{{sfn|Christiansen|1997}}{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=45}} Students would typically analyse Latin and Greek texts, write their own compositions, memorise them, and then perform them in front of their instructor and their peers.{{sfn|Christiansen|1997|p=298}} Records show that in addition to this weekly performance, students would perform plays on holidays,{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=42}} and in both Latin and English.{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=43}}

[[File:Nathan Field.JPG|thumb|Nathan Field, who began his acting career as a [[boy player]]]]

===Choir schools===
Choir schools connected with the Elizabethan court included [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle|St. George’s Chapel]], the Chapel Royal, and [[Old St Paul's Cathedral|St. Paul’s]].{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=49}} These schools performed plays and other court entertainments for the Queen.{{sfn|Astington|2010|pp=48–50}} Between the 1560s and 1570s these schools had begun to perform for general audiences as well.{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=51}} Playing companies of boy actors were derived from choir schools.{{sfn|Gurr|2009|p=45}}  [[John Lyly]] is an earlier example of a playwright contracted to write for the children's companies; Lyly wrote ''[[Gallathea]]'', ''[[Endymion (play)|Endymion]]'', and ''[[Midas (Lyly play)|Midas]]'' for Paul’s Boys.{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=54}} Another example is [[Ben Jonson]], who wrote ''[[Cynthia’s Revels]]''.{{sfn|Gurr|2009|pp=67–68}}

===Universities===
{{main|Academic drama}}
[[Academic drama]] stems from [[late medieval]] and [[early modern]] practices of miracles and morality plays as well as the [[Feast of Fools]] and the election of a [[Lord of Misrule]].{{sfn|Boas|1914|p=346}} The Feast of Fools includes [[Mummers' play|mummer plays]].{{sfn|Boas|1914|p=8}} The universities, particularly [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], were attended by students studying for bachelor's degrees and master's degrees, followed by doctorates in Law, Medicine, and Theology.{{sfn|Boas|1914|p=13}} In the 1400s, dramas were often restricted to mummer plays with someone who read out all the parts in Latin.{{sfn|Boas|1914|pp=14–15}} With the rediscovery and redistribution of classical materials during the [[English Renaissance]], Latin and Greek plays began to be restaged.{{sfn|Boas|1914|pp=14–18}} These plays were often accompanied by feasts.{{sfn|Boas|1914|p=25}} Queen Elizabeth I viewed dramas during her visits to Oxford and Cambridge.{{sfn|Boas|1914|pp=89–108, 252–285}} A well-known play cycle which was written and performed in the universities was the ''[[Parnassus Plays]]''.{{sfn|Boas|1914|p=346}}

===Inns of Court===
[[File:Gorboduc TP 1565.jpg|thumb|Gorboduc TP 1565]]
Upon graduation, many university students, especially those going into law, would reside and participate in the [[Inns of Court]]. The Inns of Court were communities of working lawyers and university alumni.{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=69}} Notable literary figures and playwrights who resided in the Inns of Court include [[John Donne]], [[Francis Beaumont]], [[John Marston (playwright)|John Marston]], [[Thomas Lodge]], [[Thomas Campion]], [[Abraham Fraunce]], [[Sir Philip Sidney]], [[Sir Thomas More]], [[Sir Francis Bacon]], and [[George Gascoigne]].{{sfn|Astington|2010|pp=69–71}}{{sfn|Cunningham|2007|p=200}} Like the university, the Inns of Court elected their own [[Lord of Misrule]].{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=70}} Other activities included participation in [[moot court]], [[disputations|disputation]], and [[masques]].{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=70}}{{sfn|Cunningham|2007|p=200}} Plays written and performed in the Inns of Court include ''[[Gorboduc]]'', ''[[Gismund of Salerne]]'', and ''[[The Misfortunes of Arthur]]''.{{sfn|Cunningham|2007|p=200}} An example of a famous [[masque]] put on by the Inns was [[James Shirley]]'s ''[[The Triumph of Peace]]''. [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]'' and ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' were also performed here, although written for commercial theater.{{sfn|Astington|2010|p=74}}

===Masque===
{{main|Masque}}

==Establishment of playhouses==
The first permanent English theatre, the [[Red Lion (theatre)|Red Lion]], opened in 1567{{sfn|Bryson|2008|p=28}} but it was a short-lived failure. The first successful theatres, such as [[The Theatre]], opened in 1576.

The establishment of large and profitable public theatres was an essential enabling factor in the success of English Renaissance drama. Once they were in operation, drama could become a fixed and permanent, rather than transitory, phenomenon. Their construction was prompted when the [[Lord Mayor of London|Mayor]] and [[City of London Corporation|Corporation of London]] first banned plays in 1572 as a measure against the plague, and then formally expelled all players from the city in 1575.{{sfn|Ordish|1899|p=30}} This prompted the construction of permanent playhouses outside the jurisdiction of London, in the [[Liberty (division)|liberties]] of Halliwell/Holywell in Shoreditch and later [[Liberty of the Clink|the Clink]], and at [[Newington Butts]] near the established entertainment district of St. George's Fields in rural Surrey.{{sfn|Ordish|1899|p=30}} The Theatre was constructed in [[Shoreditch]] in 1576 by [[James Burbage]] with his brother-in-law [[John Brayne]] (the owner of the unsuccessful Red Lion playhouse of 1567){{sfn|Bowsher|Miller|2010|p=19}} and the Newington Butts playhouse was set up, probably by Jerome Savage, some time between 1575{{sfn|Wickham|Berry|Ingram|2000|p=320}} and 1577.{{sfn|Ingram|1992|p=170}} The Theatre was rapidly followed by the nearby [[Curtain Theatre]] (1577), the [[the Rose (theatre)|Rose]] (1587), the [[the Swan (theatre)|Swan]] (1595), the [[Globe Theatre|Globe]] (1599), the [[Fortune Playhouse|Fortune]] (1600), and the [[Red Bull Theatre|Red Bull]] (1604).{{efn|A complete roster of what the Elizabethans called "public" theatres would include the [[Boar's Head Inn, Whitechapel|Boar's Head Inn]] (1598), and the [[Hope Theatre]] (1613), neither of them major venues for drama in the era.}} 

Elsewhere, the [[Vagabonds Act 1572]] left itinerant actors liable to prosecution as vagrants and caused them to seek wealthy sponsors who could provide a permanent play house for them. At the same time, members of the aristocracy found it useful to have a [[playing company]] available to entertain royal or noble guests and thus advance their social status.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Dobson |editor-first1=Michael |editor-last2=Wells |editor-first2=Stanley |date=2001 |title=The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tRajFq8EnEEC&pg=PA257 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=257 |isbn=978-0198117353}}</ref>

==Playhouse architecture==
{{wide image|The Globe Theatre, Panorama Innenraum, London.jpg|600px|Panorama of the interior of the Globe Theatre, London|50%|right}}
Archaeological excavations on the foundations of the Rose and the Globe in the late 20th century showed that all the London theatres had individual differences, but their common function necessitated a similar general plan.{{sfn|Gurr|2009|pp=123–131, 142–146}} The public theatres were three stories high and built around an open space at the centre. Usually polygonal in plan to give an overall rounded effect, although the Red Bull and the first Fortune were square. The three levels of inward-facing galleries overlooked the open centre, into which jutted the stage: essentially a platform surrounded on three sides by the audience. The rear side was restricted for the entrances and exits of the actors and seating for the musicians. The upper level behind the stage could be used as a [[balcony]], as in ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' and ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', or as a position from which an actor could harangue a crowd, as in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]''.{{sfn|Ichikawa|2012|pp=1–12}} The pit was the place where the poorest audience members could view the show. Around the 1600s a new area was introduced into the theaters, a 'gullet'. A gullet was an invisible corridor that the actors used to go to the wings of the stage where people usually changed clothes quickly{{cn|date=December 2022}}.

The playhouses were generally built with timber and plaster. Individual theatre descriptions give additional information about their construction, such as flint stones being used to build the Swan. Theatres were also constructed to be able to hold a large number of people.{{sfn|Hattaway|2008|page=40}}

A different model was developed with the [[Blackfriars Theatre]], which came into regular use on a long-term basis in 1599.{{efn|The Blackfriars site was used as a theatre in the 1576-84 period; but it became a regular venue for drama only later.}} The Blackfriars was small in comparison to the earlier theatres and roofed rather than open to the sky. It resembled a modern theatre in ways that its predecessors did not. Other small enclosed theatres followed, notably the [[Whitefriars Theatre|Whitefriars]] (1608) and the [[Cockpit Theatre|Cockpit]] (1617). With the building of the [[Salisbury Court Theatre]] in 1629 near the site of the defunct Whitefriars, the London audience had six theatres to choose from: three surviving large open-air public theatres—the Globe, the Fortune, and the Red Bull—and three smaller enclosed private theatres: the Blackfriars, the Cockpit, and the Salisbury Court.{{efn|Other "private" theaters of the era included the theatre near [[St Paul's Cathedral]] used by the [[Children of Paul's]] (1575) and the occasionally used [[Cockpit-in-Court]] (1629).}} Audiences of the 1630s benefited from a half-century of vigorous [[dramaturgy|dramaturgical]] development; the plays of [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowe]] and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and their contemporaries were still being performed on a regular basis, mostly at the public theatres, while the newest works of the newest playwrights were abundant as well, mainly at the private theatres.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}

==Audiences==
Around 1580, when both the Theater and the Curtain were full on summer days, the total theater capacity of London was about 5000 spectators. With the building of new theater facilities and the formation of new companies, London's total theater capacity exceeded 10,000 after 1610.{{sfn|Cook|2014|pp=176–178}}

Ticket prices in general varied during this time period. The cost of admission was based on where in the theatre a person wished to be situated, or based on what a person could afford. If people wanted a better view of the stage or to be more separate from the crowd, they would pay more for their entrance. Due to inflation that occurred during this time period, admission increased in some theaters from a penny to a sixpence or even higher.{{sfn|MacIntyre|1992|p=322}}

Commercial theaters were largely located just outside the boundaries of the [[City of London]], since City authorities tended to be wary of the adult playing companies, but plays were performed by touring companies all over England.{{sfn|Keenan|2002}} English companies even toured and performed English plays abroad, especially in [[Germany]] and in [[Denmark]].{{sfn|Dawson|2002|pp=174–193}}{{efn|For example, ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' was performed in [[Nördlingen]] in 1605.{{sfn|Dawson|2002|p=176}}}}

Upper class spectators would pay for seats in the galleries, using cushions for comfort. In the Globe Theatre, nobles could sit directly by the side on the stage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/eng/lfletcher/henry4/papers/mthomas.htm#:~:text=The%20upper%20class%20spectators%20would,the%20stage(Elizabethan%20Era)|title=Theatre Culture Of Early Modern England|author=Melissa Thomas|date=2009|access-date=18 November 2020|archive-date=7 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207124057/http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/eng/lfletcher/henry4/papers/mthomas.htm#:~:text=The%20upper%20class%20spectators%20would,the%20stage(Elizabethan%20Era)|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Performances==
The acting companies functioned on a [[Repertory theatre|repertory]] system: unlike modern productions that can run for months or years on end, the troupes of this era rarely acted the same play two days in a row.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tucker|first=Patrick|title=Secrets of Acting Shakespeare: The Original Approach|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|pages=8}}</ref> [[Thomas Middleton]]'s ''[[A Game at Chess]]'' ran for nine straight performances in August 1624 before it was closed by the authorities; but this was due to the political content of the play and was a unique, unprecedented and unrepeatable phenomenon. The 1592 season of [[Lord Strange's Men]] at the [[The Rose (theatre)|Rose Theatre]] was far more representative: between 19 February and 23 June the company played six days a week, minus Good Friday and two other days. They performed 23 different plays, some only once, and their most popular play of the season, ''The First Part of Hieronimo'', based on Kyd's ''[[The Spanish Tragedy]]'', 15 times. They never played the same play two days in a row, and rarely the same play twice in a week.{{sfn|Halliday|1964|p=374}}{{efn|[[Edmund Kerchever Chambers|E. K. Chambers']] ''The Elizabethan Stage'' (1923), reflects an earlier interpretation of the identity of the ''Hieronimo'' play.{{sfn|Chambers|1923|p=396}}}} The workload on the actors, especially the leading performers like [[Richard Burbage]] or [[Edward Alleyn]], must have been tremendous.

One distinctive feature of the companies was that only men or boys performed. Female parts were played by adolescent [[boy players]] in women's costume. Some companies were composed entirely of boy players.{{efn|For example the [[King's Revels Children]], [[Children of Paul's]], and the [[Children of the Chapel#The troupes of child actors|Children of the Chapel]]. Shakespeare even alludes to such companies, with a certain amount of scorn, in ''Hamlet'' act 2, scene 2.<ref>{{Folger inline|Hamlet|2|2|337–391}}</ref>}} Performances in the public theatres (like the Globe) took place in the afternoon with no artificial lighting, but when, in the course of a play, the light began to fade, candles were lit.{{sfn|Bellinger|1927|pp=207–213}} In the enclosed private theatres (like the Blackfriars) artificial lighting was used throughout. Plays contained little to no scenery as the scenery was described by the actors or indicated by costume through the course of the play.{{sfn|Ichikawa|2012|p=100}}

In the Elizabethan era, research has been conclusive about how many actors and troupes there were in the 16th century, but little research delves into the roles of the actors on the English renaissance stage. The first point is that during the Elizabethan era, women were not allowed to act on stage. The actors were all male; in fact, most were boys. For plays written that had male and female parts, the female parts were played by the youngest boy players.{{sfn|Maclennan|1994}} Stronger female roles in tragedies were acted by older boy players because they had more experience.{{sfn|Maclennan|1994}} As a boy player, many skills had to be implemented such as voice and athleticism (fencing was one).{{sfn|Maclennan|1994}}

In Elizabethan entertainment, troupes were created and they were considered the actor companies. They travelled around England as drama was the most entertaining art at the time.

<!-- FIXME: This paragraph verges on incoherence. It needs a complete rewrite (TNT). --Xover, 2 March 2018 -->
Elizabethan actors never played the same show on successive days and added a new play to their repertoire every other week. These actors were getting paid within these troupes so for their job, they would constantly learn new plays as they toured different cities in England. In these plays, there were bookkeepers that acted as the narrators of these plays and they would introduce the actors and the different roles they played. At some points, the bookkeeper would not state the narrative of the scene, so the audience could find out for themselves. In Elizabethan and Jacobean plays, the plays often exceeded the number of characters/roles and did not have enough actors to fulfil them, thus the idea of doubling roles came to be.{{sfn|Calore|2003}} Doubling roles is used to reinforce a plays theme by having the actor act out the different roles simultaneously.{{sfn|Kregor|1993}} The reason for this was for the acting companies to control salary costs, or to be able to perform under conditions where resources such as other actor companies lending actors were not present.{{sfn|Kregor|1993}}

<!-- FIXME: Is this actually connected to the rest of the section, or is it just a general observation? --Xover, 2 March 2018 -->
There were two acting styles implemented: formal and natural. Formal acting is objective and traditional, while natural acting attempts to create an illusion for the audience by remaining in character and imitating the fictional circumstances. The formal actor symbolises while the natural actor interprets. The natural actor impersonates while the formal actor represents the role. Natural and formal are opposites of each other, where natural acting is subjective. Overall, the use of these acting styles and the doubled roles dramatic device made Elizabethan plays very popular.{{sfn|Triesault|1970}}

==Costumes==
[[File:Elizabethan Actors.gif|thumb|right|Costumes of the Elizabethan era; sketch by William Hickman Smith Aubrey, c. 1867]]
One of the main uses of costume during the Elizabethan era was to make up for the lack of scenery, set, and props on stage. It created a visual effect for the audience, and it was an integral part of the overall performance.{{sfn|MacIntyre|1992}} Since the main visual appeal on stage were the costumes, they were often bright in colour and visually entrancing. Colours symbolized social hierarchy, and costumes were made to reflect that. For example, if a character was royalty, their costume would include purple. The colours, as well as the different fabrics of the costumes, allowed the audience to know the status of each character when they first appeared on stage.{{sfn|Keenan|2014|pp=109–110}}

Costumes were collected in inventory. More often than not, costumes wouldn't be made individually to fit the actor. Instead, they would be selected out of the stock that theatre companies would keep. A theatre company reused costumes when possible and would rarely get new costumes made. Costumes themselves were expensive, so usually players wore contemporary clothing regardless of the time period of the play. The most expensive pieces were given to higher class characters because costuming was used to identify social status on stage. The fabrics within a playhouse would indicate the wealth of the company itself. The fabrics used the most were: velvet, satin, silk, cloth-of-gold, lace and ermine.{{sfn|Mann|1991}} For less significant characters, actors would use their own clothes.<!-- FIXME: A proper explanation of Sumptuary laws and how they relate to Elizabethan theatre should go here. --Xover, 2 March 2018 -->

Actors also left clothes in their will for following actors to use. Masters would also leave clothes for servants in their will, but servants weren't allowed to wear fancy clothing, instead, they sold the clothes back to theatre companies.{{sfn|Keenan|2014|pp=109–110}} 
In the Tudor and Elizabethan eras, there were laws stating that certain classes could only wear clothing fitting of their status in society. 
There was a discrimination of status within the classes. Higher classes flaunted their wealth and power through the appearance of clothing, however, courtesans and actors were the only exceptions – as clothing represented their 'working capital', as it were, but they were only permitted to dress so '''while working'''. If actors belonged to a licensed acting company, they were allowed to dress above their standing in society for specific roles in a production.{{sfn|Montrose|1996|pp=35–37}}

==Playwrights==
The growing population of London, the growing wealth of its people, and their fondness for spectacle produced a dramatic literature of remarkable variety, quality and extent. About 3,000 plays were written for the Elizabethan stage, and although most of them have been lost, at least 543 remain.<ref>Martin Wiggins, in association with Catherine Richardson, British Drama 1533–1642: A Catalogue (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012-).</ref><ref>McInnis, D., Steggle, M. (2014). "Introduction: Nothing Will Come of Nothing? Or, What can we Learn from Plays that Don’t Exist?". In: McInnis, D., Steggle, M. (eds.) ''Lost Plays in Shakespeare’s England.'' Early Modern Literature in History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. {{doi|10.1057/9781137403971_1}}</ref>

The people who wrote these plays were primarily self-made men from modest backgrounds.{{efn|A few aristocratic women engaged in closet drama or dramatic translations. Chambers lists [[Elizabeth Tanfield Cary|Elizabeth, Lady Cary]]; [[Mary Sidney|Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke]]; [[Jane Lumley|Jane, Lady Lumley]]; and [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth Tudor]].{{sfn|Chambers|1923}}}} Some of them were educated at either [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] or [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], but many were not.  Although [[William Shakespeare]] and [[Ben Jonson]] were actors, the majority do not seem to have been performers, and no major author who came on to the scene after 1600 is known to have supplemented his income by acting. Their lives were subject to the same levels of danger and earlier mortality as all who lived during the early modern period: [[Christopher Marlowe]] was killed in an apparent tavern brawl, while Ben Jonson killed an actor in a duel. Several were probably soldiers.

Playwrights were normally paid in increments during the writing process, and if their play was accepted, they would also receive the proceeds from one day's performance. However, they had no ownership of the plays they wrote. Once a play was sold to a company, the company owned it, and the playwright had no control over casting, performance, revision or publication.

The profession of dramatist was challenging and far from lucrative.{{sfn|Halliday|1964|pp=374–375}} Entries in [[Philip Henslowe]]'s Diary show that in the years around 1600 Henslowe paid as little as £6 or £7 per play. This was probably at the low end of the range, though even the best writers could not demand too much more. A playwright, working alone, could generally produce two plays a year at most. In the 1630s [[Richard Brome]] signed a contract with the [[Salisbury Court Theatre]] to supply three plays a year, but found himself unable to meet the workload. Shakespeare produced fewer than 40 solo plays in a career that spanned more than two decades: he was financially successful because he was an actor and, most importantly, a shareholder in the company for which he acted and in the theatres they used. Ben Jonson achieved success as a purveyor of Court [[masque]]s, and was talented at playing the [[patronage]] game that was an important part of the social and economic life of the era. Those who were purely playwrights fared far less well: the biographies of early figures like [[George Peele]] and [[Robert Greene (16th century)|Robert Greene]], and later ones like Brome and [[Philip Massinger]], are marked by financial uncertainty, struggle and poverty.

Playwrights dealt with the natural limitation on their productivity by combining into teams of two, three, four, and even five to generate play texts. The majority of plays written in this era were collaborations, and the solo artists who generally eschewed collaborative efforts, like Jonson and Shakespeare, were the exceptions to the rule. Dividing the work, of course, meant dividing the income; but the arrangement seems to have functioned well enough to have made it worthwhile. Of the 70-plus known works in the canon of [[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]], roughly 50 are collaborations. In a single year (1598) Dekker worked on 16 collaborations for impresario Philip Henslowe, and earned £30, or a little under 12 shillings per week—roughly twice as much as the average artisan's income of 1''s''. per day.{{sfn|Gurr|2009|p=72}} At the end of his career, [[Thomas Heywood]] would famously claim to have had "an entire hand, or at least a main finger" in the authorship of some 220 plays. A solo artist usually needed months to write a play (though Jonson is said to have done ''[[Volpone]]'' in five weeks); Henslowe's Diary indicates that a team of four or five writers could produce a play in as little as two weeks. Admittedly, though, the Diary also shows that teams of Henslowe's house dramatists—[[Anthony Munday]], [[Robert Wilson (dramatist)|Robert Wilson]], [[Richard Hathwaye]], [[Henry Chettle]], and the others, even including a young [[John Webster]]—could start a project, and accept advances on it, yet fail to produce anything stageworthy.{{sfn|Halliday|1964|pp=108–109, 374–375, 456–457}}

===Timeline of English Renaissance playwrights===

<div align="center">
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:900 height:450
PlotArea = left:120 bottom:80 top:10 right:10
AlignBars = justify
DateFormat  = yyyy
Period = from:1550 till:1666
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors =
  id:Life  value:skyblue     legend:Life
  id:Plays value:brightblue  legend:Playwriting_career
  id:line1 value:black       legend:Accession_of_monarch
  id:line2 value:green       legend:Opening_of_Burbage's_The_Theatre
  id:line3 value:red         legend:Closing_of_theatres

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:4 start:1550
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1550

BarData =  #Note that bars are ordered by career rather than birth
  bar:Labels
  bar:Peele       text:[[George Peele]]
  bar:Lily        text:[[John Lyly]]
  bar:Munday      text:[[Anthony Munday]]
  bar:Kyd         text:[[Thomas Kyd]]
  bar:Marlowe     text:[[Christopher Marlowe]]
  bar:Greene      text:[[Robert Greene (dramatist)|Robert Greene]]
  bar:Shakespeare text:[[William Shakespeare]]
  bar:Chapman     text:[[George Chapman]]
  bar:Jonson      text:[[Ben Jonson]]
  bar:Dekker      text:[[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]]
  bar:Marston     text:[[John Marston (playwright)|John Marston]]
  bar:Heywood     text:[[Thomas Heywood]]
  bar:Webster     text:[[John Webster]]
  bar:Middleton   text:[[Thomas Middleton]]
  bar:Fletcher    text:[[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]]
  bar:Beaumont    text:[[Francis Beaumont]]
  bar:Rowley      text:[[William Rowley]]
  bar:Massinger   text:[[Philip Massinger]]
  bar:Ford        text:[[John Ford (dramatist)|John Ford]]
  bar:Brome       text:[[Richard Brome]]
  bar:Shirley     text:[[James Shirley]]

PlotData=

  width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(3,-4)
  bar:Labels at:1558 text:[[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]]
  bar:Labels at:1603 text:[[James VI and I|James I]]
  bar:Labels at:1625 text:[[Charles I of England|Charles I]]
  bar:Labels at:1660 text:[[Charles II of England|Charles II]]

  bar:Peele       from:1556 till:1596 color:Life
  bar:Peele       from:1581 till:1595 color:Plays
  bar:Lily        from:1553 till:1606 color:Life
  bar:Lily        from:1584 till:1594 color:Plays
  bar:Munday      from:1560 till:1633 color:Life
  bar:Munday      from:1585 till:1602 color:Plays
  bar:Kyd         from:1558 till:1594 color:Life
  bar:Kyd         from:1586 till:1594 color:Plays
  bar:Marlowe     from:1564 till:1593 color:Life
  bar:Marlowe     from:1587 till:1592 color:Plays
  bar:Greene      from:1558 till:1592 color:Life
  bar:Greene      from:1588 till:1592 color:Plays
  bar:Shakespeare from:1564 till:1616 color:Life
  bar:Shakespeare from:1590 till:1613 color:Plays
  bar:Chapman     from:1559 till:1634 color:Life
  bar:Chapman     from:1596 till:1616 color:Plays
  bar:Jonson      from:1572 till:1637 color:Life
  bar:Jonson      from:1596 till:1637 color:Plays
  bar:Dekker      from:1572 till:1632 color:Life
  bar:Dekker      from:1598 till:1624 color:Plays
  bar:Marston     from:1576 till:1634 color:Life
  bar:Marston     from:1599 till:1608 color:Plays
  bar:Heywood     from:1573 till:1641 color:Life
  bar:Heywood     from:1600 till:1634 color:Plays
  bar:Webster     from:1580 till:1634 color:Life
  bar:Webster     from:1602 till:1624 color:Plays
  bar:Middleton   from:1580 till:1627 color:Life
  bar:Middleton   from:1603 till:1624 color:Plays
  bar:Fletcher    from:1579 till:1625 color:Life
  bar:Fletcher    from:1606 till:1624 color:Plays
  bar:Beaumont    from:1584 till:1616 color:Life
  bar:Beaumont    from:1606 till:1616 color:Plays
  bar:Rowley      from:1585 till:1626 color:Life
  bar:Rowley      from:1607 till:1624 color:Plays
  bar:Massinger   from:1583 till:1640 color:Life
  bar:Massinger   from:1613 till:1636 color:Plays
  bar:Ford        from:1586 till:1640 color:Life
  bar:Ford        from:1621 till:1638 color:Plays
  bar:Brome       from:1590 till:1653 color:Life
  bar:Brome       from:1623 till:1642 color:Plays
  bar:Shirley     from:1596 till:1666 color:Life
  bar:Shirley     from:1625 till:1642 color:Plays

  bar:Peele       at:1583 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Lily        at:1580 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Munday      at:1587 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Kyd         at:1585 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Marlowe     at:1591 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Greene      at:1585 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Shakespeare at:1591 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Chapman     at:1586 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Jonson      at:1599 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Dekker      at:1599 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Marston     at:1603 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Heywood     at:1600 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Webster     at:1607 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Middleton   at:1607 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Fletcher    at:1606 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Beaumont    at:1611 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Rowley      at:1612 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Massinger   at:1610 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Ford        at:1613 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Brome       at:1617 mark:(line,yellow)
  bar:Shirley     at:1623 mark:(line,yellow)

  width:2 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

LineData =
  at:1558 color:line1 layer:back
  at:1603 color:line1 layer:back
  at:1625 color:line1 layer:back
  at:1660 color:line1 layer:back
  at:1576 color:line2 layer:back
  at:1642 color:line3 layer:back

</timeline>
</div>
<small>Short yellow lines indicate 27 years—the average age these authors began their playwriting careers</small>

==Genres==
[[Genre]]s of the period included the [[history play]], which depicted English or European history. [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s plays about the lives of kings, such as ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'' and ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'', belong to this category, as do [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s ''[[Edward II (play)|Edward II]]'' and [[George Peele]]'s ''[[Famous Chronicle of King Edward the First]]''. History plays also dealt with more recent events, like ''[[A Larum for London]]'' which dramatizes the sack of [[Antwerp]] in 1576. A better known play, Peele's ''[[The Battle of Alcazar]]'' (c. 1591), depicts the [[battle of Alcácer Quibir]] in 1578.

[[Tragedy]] was a very popular genre. Marlowe's tragedies were exceptionally successful, such as ''[[Doctor Faustus (play)|Dr. Faustus]]'' and ''[[The Jew of Malta]]''. The audiences particularly liked [[Revenge play|revenge dramas]], such as [[Thomas Kyd]]'s ''[[The Spanish Tragedy]]''. The four tragedies considered to be Shakespeare's greatest (''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[Othello]]'', ''[[King Lear]]'' and ''[[Macbeth]]'') were composed during this period.

[[Comedy (drama)|Comedies]] were common, too. A subgenre developed in this period was the [[city comedy]], which deals satirically with life in London after the fashion of [[Theatre of ancient Rome|Roman]] [[New Comedy]]. Examples are [[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]]'s ''[[The Shoemaker's Holiday]]'' and [[Thomas Middleton]]'s ''[[A Chaste Maid in Cheapside]]''.

Though marginalised, the older genres like [[pastoral]] (''[[The Faithful Shepherdess]]'', 1608), and even the [[morality play]] (''[[Four Plays in One]]'', ca. 1608–13) could exert influences. After about 1610, the new hybrid subgenre of the [[tragicomedy]] enjoyed an efflorescence, as did the [[masque]] throughout the reigns of the first two [[House of Stuart|Stuart]] kings, [[James I of England|James I]] and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]].

Plays on biblical themes were common, Peele's ''[[David and Bethsabe]]'' being one of the few surviving examples.

==Printed texts==
Only a minority of the plays of English Renaissance theatre were ever printed. Of Heywood's 220 plays, only about 20 were published in book form.{{sfn|Halliday|1964|p=375}} A little over 600 plays were published in the period as a whole, most commonly in individual [[book size|quarto]] editions. (Larger collected editions, like those of [[Early texts of Shakespeare's works|Shakespeare's]], [[Ben Jonson folios|Ben Jonson's]], and [[Beaumont and Fletcher folios|Beaumont and Fletcher's]] plays, were a late and limited development.) Through much of the modern era, it was thought that play texts were popular items among Renaissance readers that provided healthy profits for the [[Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers|stationers]] who printed and sold them. By the turn of the 21st century, the climate of scholarly opinion shifted somewhat on this belief: some contemporary researchers argue that publishing plays was a risky and marginal business{{sfn|Blayney|1997}}—though this conclusion has been disputed by others.{{sfn|Farmer|Lesser|2005}} Some of the most successful publishers of the English Renaissance, like [[William Ponsonby (publisher)|William Ponsonby]] or [[Edward Blount]], rarely published plays.

A small number of plays from the era survived not in printed texts but in [[manuscript]] form.{{efn|For example ''[[Sir Thomas More (play)|Sir Thomas More]]'', ''[[John of Bordeaux]]'', ''[[Believe as You List]]'', and ''[[Sir John van Olden Barnavelt]].''}}

==The end of English Renaissance theatre==
{{main|London theatre closure 1642}}{{See also|Antitheatricality}}
The rising [[Puritan]] movement was hostile toward theatre, as they felt that "entertainment" was sinful. Politically, playwrights and actors were clients of the monarchy and aristocracy, and most supported the Royalist cause. The Puritan faction, long powerful in London, gained control of the city early in the [[First English Civil War]], and on 2 September 1642, the [[Long Parliament]], pushed by the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian party]], under [[Puritan]] influence, banned the staging of plays in the London theatres though it did not, contrary to what is commonly stated, order the closure, let alone the destruction, of the theatres themselves:

{{blockquote
|title=''Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642–1660''
|author=[[His Majesty's Stationery Office]]
|source="September 1642: Order for Stage-plays to cease"{{sfn|Firth|Rait|1911}}
|text=
Whereas the distressed Estate of Ireland, steeped in her own Blood, and the distracted Estate of England, threatened with a Cloud of Blood by a Civil War, call for all possible Means to appease and avert the Wrath of God, appearing in these Judgements; among which, Fasting and Prayer, having been often tried to be very effectual, having been lately and are still enjoined; and whereas Public Sports do not well agree with Public Calamities, nor Public Stage-plays with the Seasons of Humiliation, this being an Exercise of sad and pious Solemnity, and the other being Spectacles of Pleasure, too commonly expressing lascivious Mirth and Levity: It is therefore thought fit, and Ordained, by the Lords and Commons in this Parliament assembled, That, while these sad causes and set Times of Humiliation do continue, Public Stage Plays shall cease, and be forborn, instead of which are recommended to the People of this Land the profitable and seasonable considerations of Repentance, Reconciliation, and Peace with God, which probably may produce outward Peace and Prosperity, and bring again Times of Joy and Gladness to these Nations.}}

The Act purports the ban to be temporary ("... while these sad causes and set Times of Humiliation do continue, Public Stage Plays shall cease and be forborn") but does not assign a time limit to it.

Even after 1642, during the [[English Civil War]] and the ensuing [[English Interregnum|Interregnum]] ([[Commonwealth of England|English Commonwealth]]), some English Renaissance theatre continued. For example, short comical plays called [[droll]]s were allowed by the authorities, while full-length plays were banned. The theatre buildings were not closed but rather were used for purposes other than staging plays.{{efn|See for example the [[Red Bull Theatre]] and [[Robert Cox (actor)|Robert Cox]]}}

The performance of plays remained banned for most of the next eighteen years, becoming allowed again after the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] of the monarchy in 1660. The theatres began performing many of the plays of the previous era, though often in adapted forms. New genres of [[Restoration comedy]] and [[Restoration spectacular|spectacle]] soon evolved, giving English theatre of the later seventeenth century its distinctive character.

==List of playwrights==
<!-- Please keep alphabetical order -->
{{div col begin|colwidth=15em}}
*[[William Alabaster]]<ref>{{harvid|Chambers|1923}}</ref>
*[[William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling]]
*[[Robert Armin]]
*[[Barnabe Barnes]]
*[[Lording Barry]]
*[[Francis Beaumont]]
*[[William Berkeley (governor)|William Berkeley]]
*[[William Bird (playwright)|William Bird]]
*[[Samuel Brandon (author)|Samuel Brandon]]
*[[Antony Brewer]]
*[[Richard Brome]]
*[[Samuel Brooke]]
*[[William Browne (poet)]]
*[[Thomas Campion]]
*[[Lodowick Carlell]]
*[[William Cartwright (dramatist)|William Cartwright]]
*[[Elizabeth Cary, Viscountess Falkland]]
*[[Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury]]
*[[George Chapman]]
*[[Henry Cheke]]
*[[Henry Chettle]]
*[[John Clavell]]
*[[Anthony Chute]]
*[[Robert Daborne]]
*[[Samuel Daniel]]
*[[William Davenant]]
*[[Robert Davenport (dramatist)|Robert Davenport]]
*[[John Davidson (dramatist)|John Davidson]]
*[[John Day (dramatist)|John Day]]
*[[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]]
*[[Michael Drayton]]
*[[Richard Edwardes]]
*[[George Ferebe]]
*[[Nathan Field]]
*[[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]]
*[[Phineas Fletcher]]
*[[John Ford (dramatist)|John Ford]]
*[[Abraham Fraunce]]
*[[Ulpian Fulwell]]
*[[William Gager]]
*[[George Gascoigne]]
*[[Henry Glapthorne]]
*[[Thomas Goffe]]
*[[Arthur Golding]]
*[[Robert Greene (dramatist)|Robert Greene]]
*[[Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke|Fulke Greville]]
*[[Matthew Gwinne]]
*[[William Haughton (playwright)|William Haughton]]
*[[Walter Hawkesworth (playwright)|Walter Hawkesworth]]
*[[Mary Herbert (writer)|Mary Herbert]]
*[[Thomas Heywood]]
*[[Thomas Hughes (dramatist)|Thomas Hughes]]
*[[Thomas Ingelend]]
*[[John Jeffere]]
*[[Ben Jonson]]
*[[Henry Killigrew (playwright)|Henry Killigrew]]
*[[Thomas Killigrew]]
*[[Thomas Kyd]]
*[[Sir Henry Lee]]
*[[Thomas Legge]]
*[[Thomas Lodge]]
*[[Thomas Lupton (playwright)|Thomas Lupton]]
*[[John Lyly]]
*[[Lewis Machin]]
*[[Francis Marbury]]
*[[Gervase Markham]]
*[[Christopher Marlowe]]
*[[Shackerley Marmion]]
*[[John Marston (playwright)|John Marston]]
*[[John Mason (playwright)|John Mason]]
*[[Philip Massinger]]
*[[Thomas May]]
*[[Thomas Middleton]]
*[[Anthony Munday]]
*[[Thomas Nabbes]]
*[[Thomas Nashe]]
*[[Thomas Nelson (dramatist)|Thomas Nelson]]
*[[Thomas Norton]]
*[[George Peele]]
*[[William Percy (writer)|William Percy]]
*[[John Phillip]]
*[[John Pickering (dramatist)]]
*[[Henry Porter (playwright)|Henry Porter]]
*[[Thomas Preston (writer)|Thomas Preston]]
*[[Samuel Rowley]]
*[[William Rowley]]
*[[George Ruggle]]
*[[Joseph Rutter]]
*[[Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset|Thomas Sackville]]
*[[William Sampson (playwright)|William Sampson]]
*[[William Shakespeare]]
*[[Edward Sharpham]]
*[[James Shirley]]
*[[Sir Philip Sidney]]
*[[Wentworth Smith]]
*[[John Stephens (dramatist)|John Stephens]]
*[[John Suckling (poet)|Sir John Suckling]]
*[[Robert Tailor]]
*[[Richard Tarlton]]
*[[Thomas Tomkis]]
*[[Cyril Tourneur]]
*[[Francis Verney]]
*[[William Wager]]
*[[George Wapull]]
*[[William Warner (poet)]]
*[[John Webster]]
*[[George Whetstone]]
*[[George Wilkins]]
*[[Robert Wilmot (playwright)|Robert Wilmot]]
*[[Arthur Wilson (writer)|Arthur Wilson]]
*[[Robert Wilson (dramatist)|Robert Wilson]]
*[[Nathaniel Woodes]]
*[[Robert Yarington]]
{{div col end}}

== Actors ==

{{div col begin|colwidth=15em}}
*[[William Alabaster.]]
*[[Edward Alleyn]]
*[[Robert Armin]]
*[[William Barksted]]
*[[Richard Brome]]
*[[Richard Burbage]]
*[[William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne|William Cavendish]]
*[[Henry Condell]]
*[[Nathan Field]]
*[[Alexander Gough]]
*[[Thomas Greene (actor)|Thomas Greene]]
*[[Richard Gunnell]]
*[[Stephen Hammerton]]
*[[Charles Hart (actor)|Charles Hart]]
*[[John Heminges]]
*[[Thomas Heywood]]
*[[John Honyman]]
*[[Ben Jonson]]
*[[William Kempe|Will Kempe]]
*[[John Lowin]]
*[[William Ostler]]
*[[Andrew Pennycuicke]]
*[[Augustine Phillips]]
*[[Thomas Pollard (actor)|Thomas Pollard]]
*[[Thomas Pope (actor)|Thomas Pope]]
*[[Timothy Read]]
*[[Richard Robinson (actor)|Richard Robinson]]
*[[Samuel Rowley]]
*[[William Rowley]]
*[[William Shakespeare]]
*[[William Sly]]
*[[Robert Wilson (dramatist)|Robert Wilson]]
{{div col end}}

==Playhouses==
{{div col begin|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Blackfriars Theatre]]
*[[Cockpit Theatre]]
*[[Cockpit-in-Court]]
*[[Inn-yard theatre]]s
*[[Newington Butts Theatre]]
*[[Red Bull Theatre]]
*[[Red Lion (theatre)]]
*[[Salisbury Court Theatre]]
*[[Curtain Theatre|The Curtain]]
*[[Fortune Playhouse|The Fortune]]
*[[Globe Theatre|The Globe]]
*[[Hope Theatre|The Hope]]
*[[Cockpit Theatre|The Phoenix]]
*[[The Rose (theatre)|The Rose]]
*[[The Swan (theatre)|The Swan]]
*[[The Theatre]]
*[[Whitefriars Theatre]]
{{div col end}}

==Playing companies==
{{main|Playing companies}}
{{div col begin|colwidth=15em}}
*[[King's Revels Children]]
*[[King's Revels Men]]
*[[Lady Elizabeth's Men]]
*[[Leicester's Men]]
*[[Lord Strange's Men]] (later Derby's Men)
*Oxford's Boys
*[[Oxford's Men]]
*[[Pembroke's Men]]
*[[Prince Charles's Men]]
*[[Queen Anne's Men]]
*[[Queen Elizabeth's Men]]
*[[Queen Henrietta's Men]]
*[[The Admiral's Men]]
*[[Children of Paul's|The Children of Paul's]]
*[[Children of the Chapel|The Children of the Chapel]] (Queen's Revels)
*[[King's Men (playing company)|The King's Men]]
*[[Lord Chamberlain's Men|The Lord Chamberlain's Men]]
*[[Sussex's Men]]
*Warwick's Men
*[[Worcester's Men]]
{{div col end}}

==Timeline of English Renaissance playing companies==
{{English Renaissance playing company timeline}}

==Other significant figures==
*[[Susan Baskervile]], investor and litigant
*[[William Beeston]], manager
*[[George Buc]], [[Master of the Revels]] 1609–1622
*[[Cuthbert Burbage]], entrepreneur
*[[James Burbage]], entrepreneur
*[[Ralph Crane]], scribe
*[[Philip Henslowe]], entrepreneur
*[[Henry Herbert (Master of the Revels)|Henry Herbert]], [[Master of the Revels]] 1623–1673
*[[Edward Knight (King's Men)|Edward Knight]], prompter
*[[Francis Langley]], entrepreneur
*[[John Rhodes (17th century)|John Rhodes]], manager
*[[Edmund Tilney]], [[Master of the Revels]] 1579–1609

==See also==
*[[Accession Day tilt]]
*[[History of theatre]]
*''[[The Subject of Tragedy]]'' by [[Catherine Belsey]]
{{clear}}

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{notelist|30em}}

===References===
{{reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*{{cite book|title=Actors and Acting in Shakespeare's Time: The Art of Stage Playing|last=Astington|first=John H.|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|year=2010|isbn=9780511761379|doi=10.1017/CBO970511761379|doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 |via=[[Cambridge Core]]}}
*{{cite book|title=A Short History of the Drama|last=Bellinger|first=Martha Fletcher|publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]]|location=New York|year=1927|ol=OL17749089M|hdl=2027/mdp.39015008227087|url=http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/bellinger001.html}}
*{{cite book|chapter=The Publication of Playbooks|last=Blayney|first=Peter W. M.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofearl0000unse/page/383 383–422]|title=A New History of Early English Drama|editor1-first=John D.|editor1-last=Cox|editor2-first=David Scott|editor2-last=Kastan|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|location=New York|year=1997|isbn=9780231102438|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofearl0000unse/page/383}}
*{{cite book|title=University Drama in the Tudor Age|url=https://archive.org/details/universitydramai00boasuoft|last=Boas|first=Frederick S.|author-link=Frederick S. Boas|year=1914|publisher=[[Clarendon Press]]|location=Oxford|ol=7149074M|hdl=2027/mdp.39015030766243}}
*{{cite book|title=The Rose and the Globe: Playhouses of Shakespeare's Bankside, Southwark: Excavations 1988–91|last1=Bowsher|first1=Julian|last2=Miller|first2=Pat|year=2010|publisher=[[Museum of London Archaeology]]|isbn=978-1-901992-85-4}}
*{{cite book|title=Shakespeare: The World as a Stage|url=https://archive.org/details/shakespeareworld00bill|url-access=registration|last=Bryson|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Bryson|year=2008|publisher=[[HarperPerennial]]|isbn=978-0007197903|pages=78}}
*{{cite journal|title=Elizabethan Plots: A Shared Code of Theatrical and Fictional Language|last=Calore|first=Michela|year=2003|journal=[[Theatre Survey]]|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|volume=44|issue=2|pages=249–261|issn=0040-5574|eissn=1475-4533|doi=10.1017/S0040557403000127|s2cid=162509372 |via=[[Cambridge Core]]}}
*{{cite book|title=The Elizabethan Stage|last=Chambers|first=E.K.|author-link=Edmund Kerchever Chambers|year=2009|orig-year=first published 1923|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=New York|isbn=9780199567508|volume=3|ref={{harvid|Chambers|1923}}}}
*{{cite journal|title=Rhetoric as Character-Fashioning: The Implications of Delivery's 'Places' in the British Renaissance ''Paideia''|last=Christiansen|first=Nancy L.|journal=[[Rhetorica|Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric]]|publisher=International Society for the History of Rhetoric|issn=0734-8584|eissn=1533-8541|volume=15|issue=3|year=1997|pages=297–334|doi=10.1525/rh.1997.15.3.297|jstor=10.1525/rh.1997.15.3.297|s2cid=170122602 }}
*{{cite book|title=The Privileged Playgoers of Shakespeare's London, 1576-1642|last=Cook|first=Ann Jennalie|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|location=Princeton|year=2014|isbn=9780691614953}}
*{{cite book|chapter='So Many Books, So Many Rolls of Ancient Time': The Inns of Court and ''Gorboduc''|last=Cunningham|first=Karen J.|pages=197–217|title=Solon and Thespis: Law and Theater in the English Renaissance|editor1-last=Kezar|editor1-first=Dennis|publisher=[[University of Notre Dame Press]]|location=Notre Dame, Indiana|year=2007|isbn=978-0-268-03313-2}}
*{{cite book|chapter=International Shakespeare|last=Dawson|first=Anthony B.|pages=174–193|title=The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage|editor1-last=Wells|editor1-first=Stanley|editor1-link=Stanley Wells|editor2-last=Stanton|editor2-first=Sarah|series=Cambridge Companions to Shakespeare|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|year=2002|isbn=9780511999574|doi=10.1017/CCOL0521792959.010|via=[[Cambridge Core]]}}
*{{cite journal|title=The Popularity of Playbooks Revisited|last1=Farmer|first1=Alan B.|last2=Lesser|first2=Zachary|journal=[[Shakespeare Quarterly]]|publisher=[[Folger Shakespeare Library]]|issn=0037-3222|eissn=1538-3555|volume=56|issue=1|year=2005|pages=1–32|doi=10.1353/shq.2005.0043|jstor=3844024|s2cid=59134858 }}
*{{cite book|chapter=September 1642: Order for Stage-plays to cease|title=Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660|series=Laws, etc. |editor1-last=Firth|editor1-first=C.H.|editor2-last=Rait|editor2-first=R.S.|publisher=[[His Majesty's Stationery Office]]|location=London|year=1911|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/acts-ordinances-interregnum/pp26-27|hdl=2027/inu.30000046036137|ol=6559925M}}
*{{cite book|title=The Shakespearean Stage 1574–1642|last=Gurr|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Gurr|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|year=2009|edition=4th|isbn=9780511819520|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511819520|via=[[Cambridge Core]]}}
*{{cite book|title=A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964|last=Halliday|first=F.E.|author-link=F.E. Halliday|publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]]|location=Baltimore|year=1964|ol=5906173M|oclc=683393}}
*{{cite book|title=Elizabethan Popular Theatre: Plays in Performance|last=Hattaway|first=Michael|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=London|year=2008|isbn=9780415489010}}
*{{cite book|title=The Business of Playing: The Beginnings of The Adult Professional Theater in Elizabethan London|last=Ingram|first=William|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|year=1992|isbn=978-0-8014-2671-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/businessofplayin00ingr}}
*{{cite book|title=The Shakespearean Stage Space|last=Ichikawa|first=Mariko|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|year=2012|isbn=9781139097192|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139097192|via=[[Cambridge Core]]}}
*{{cite book|title=Travelling Players in Shakespeare's England|url=https://archive.org/details/travellingplayer0000keen|url-access=registration|last=Keenan|first=Siobhan|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|location=Basingstoke|year=2002|isbn=978-0-333-96820-8|doi=10.1057/9780230597549}}
*{{cite book|title=Acting Companies and their Plays in Shakespeare's London|last=Keenan|first=Siobhan|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|location=London|year=2014|isbn=9781408146637|doi=10.5040/9781472575692}}
*{{cite journal|title=Doubled Roles in English Renaissance Drama: Problems, Possibilities and Marlowe's ''Edward II''|last=Kregor|first=Karl H.|year=1993|journal=[[Theatre History Studies]]|publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]]|volume=13|pages=<!-- pages missing. ProQuest might have it. -->|issn=0733-2033}}
*{{cite book|title=Costumes and Scripts in the Elizabethan Theatres|last=MacIntyre|first=Jean|publisher=[[University of Alberta Press]]|location=Edmonton|year=1992|isbn=978-0-88864-226-4}}
*{{cite thesis|title="If I were a woman": A study of the boy player in the Elizabethan public theatre|last=Maclennan|first=Ian Burns|degree=PhD|year=1994}}
*{{cite book|title=The Elizabethan Player: Contemporary Stage Representation|last=Mann|first=David Albert|series=[[Routledge Library Editions]]|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1991|isbn=9781138235656}}
*{{cite book|title=The Purpose of Playing: Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of the Elizabethan Theatre|last=Montrose|first=Louis|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1996|isbn=9780226534831}}
*{{cite book|title=Early London Theatres: In the Fields|url=https://archive.org/details/earlylondonthea02ordigoog|last=Ordish|first=T. Fairman|series=Antiquary's library |publisher=[[Elliot Stock]]|location=London|year=1899|ol=16796098M|hdl=2027/hvd.hnnr4j}}
*{{cite thesis|title=Elizabethan public playhouse acting: Its development and complex style|degree=MA|last=Triesault|first=Jon Lloyd|year=1970|publisher=[[University of Southern California]]|url=http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll20/id/359303|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228223711/http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll20/id/359303|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book|title=English professional theatre, 1530-1660|last1=Wickham|first1=Glynne|last2=Berry|first2=Herbert|last3=Ingram|first3=William|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|year=2000|isbn=978-0-521-23012-4}}
{{div col end}}

==External links==
{{wikiversity|Collaborative play writing}}
{{Wikibooks|History of Western Theatre: Greeks to Elizabethans}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080524031557/http://homepage.mac.com/tomdalekeever/earlymodern.html Early Modern Drama database]
* [http://search.eb.com/shakespeare/index2.html Shakespeare and the Globe] from ''Encyclopædia Britannica''; a more comprehensive resource on the theatre of this period than its name suggests.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060707001855/http://shakespearean.org.uk/elizthea1.htm A Lecture on Elizabethan Theatre by Thomas Larque]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509102710/http://www.pricejb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Rome/Rome1.html A site discussing the influence of Ancient Rome on English Renaissance Theatre]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070615203541/http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/richardsouthern.html Richard Southern archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection], [[University of Bristol]]
* Roy, Pinaki. "''All the World's a Stage'': Remembering the Prominent Renaissance London Playhouses". ''Yearly Shakespeare'' (ISSN 0976-9536), 11 (April 2013): 24–32.
*Roy, Pinaki. " ''If we ever meet again'': The Three Groups of English [[Renaissance]] Playwrights". ''Yearly Shakespeare'' (ISSN 0976-9536), 17 (April 2019): 31–38.
*[https://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/146.html The Francis Longe Collection] at the [[Library of Congress]] contains some early editions of theatrical works published in English between 1607 and 1812.
*[https://connect.mrc-academy.org/vle/homework]{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{History of theatre|state=expanded}}
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[[Category:English drama]]
[[Category:English early modern theatre companies| ]]
[[Category:History of theatre]]
[[Category:History of literature in England]]
[[Category:William Shakespeare]]