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{{Short description|Historic London public playhouse built around 1605}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Coord|51.524259|-0.103336|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
[[File:Red Lion-London theatres C16—C17, after Redwood.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Plan of London in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, showing the locations of playhouses: the Red Bull lies to the north-west of the City]]
The '''Red Bull Theatre''' was an inn-yard conversion erected in [[Clerkenwell]], [[London]], operating in the 17th century. For more than forty years, it entertained audiences drawn primarily from the City and its suburbs, developing a reputation over the years for rowdiness. After [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] closed the theatres in 1642, it continued to host illegal performances intermittently, and when the theatres reopened after the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]], it became a legitimate venue again. There is a myth that it burned down in the [[Great Fire of London]] but the direct reason for its end is unclear.

==Design==
The Red Bull was constructed in about 1605 on [[St John Street, London|St John Street]] in [[Clerkenwell]] on a site corresponding to the eastern end of modern-day Hayward's Place.{{sfn|Wickham|Berry|Ingram|2000|p=564}}{{sfn|Griffith|2001|pp=5–23}} Contemporary documents reveal that it was converted from a yard in an inn.{{sfn|Griffith|2011|p=577}} This origin accounts for its square-ish shape, shared, for example, by the original [[Fortune Playhouse|Fortune Theatre]] among playhouses of the time. The Red Bull inn's name may relate to drovers bringing cattle down St John Street toward the markets at [[Smithfield, London|Smithfield]]. The conversion was undertaken by Aaron Holland, owner of the inn from 1602, on land he (along with an actor named Martin Slatier or Slater) had leased  from [[Anne Bedingfeild]], the inheritrix of a wealthy local brewer.{{sfn|Griffith|2008}} Evidence indicates that its size was comparable to [[Globe Theatre]] and Fortune, its competitors. W. J. Lawrence argued that the theatre was roofed over in the early 1620s, but this idea was largely refuted by [[Leslie Hotson]] and [[Gerald Eades Bentley|G. E. Bentley]]. The Red Bull was most likely similar to the other outdoor theatres against which it competed, with an uncurtained thrust-forward stage backed by a [[Green room|tiring house]] and balcony, surrounded by standing room, and overlooked by galleries on three walls. It may well have held more than the capacity of The Globe.{{sfn|Griffith|2001|p=15}}

==History==
===Jacobean and Caroline===
With the abatement of the [[Bubonic plague|plague]] epidemic in 1604, entrepreneur Aaron Holland (in the service of [[Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire|Earl of Devonshire]]) secured a lease on the Red Bull inn for conversion to a theatre. At the end of that year he agreed with the actor Martin Slatier to form a new company of players, and secured the essential aristocratic patronage from [[Ulrik of Denmark (1578–1624)|Ulrik, Duke of Holstein]], younger brother to [[Anne of Denmark|Queen Anne]]. (Perhaps because they had learned from [[Philip Henslowe]]'s recent problems with neighbourhood opposition in building the Fortune, they did not approach the court for approval until they had already placated their parish neighbours—as Henslowe had—by contributing to poor relief.) Thus, the royal patent was in the name [[Queen Anne's Men]].<ref name=HB>{{cite journal |last1=Berry |first1=Herbert |title=Building Playhouses, the Accession of James I, and the Red Bull |journal=[[Medieval & Renaissance Drama in England]]|date=2005 |volume=18 |pages=61–74 |jstor=24322604 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24322604 |issn=0731-3403}}</ref> In addition to Martin Slatier, Thomas Swinnerton and [[Christopher Beeston]] were known to have owned shares in the enterprise.{{sfn|Wickham|Berry|Ingram|2000|pp=570–579}}{{sfn|Griffith|2009|pp=611–612}} The company's clown was to be [[Greene's Tu Quoque#Greene|Thomas Greene]]. The Queen Anne's Men's repertoire included works by prominent playwrights: [[Thomas Heywood]], an actor in the company, contributed the greatest part. [[John Webster]]'s ''[[The White Devil]]'' and ''The Devil's Law-case'', [[Thomas Dekker (writer)|Thomas Dekker]]'s ''If This Be Not A Good Play, the Devil Is in It'', and John Cooke's well-known ''[[Greene's Tu Quoque|The City Gallant]]'' (Thomas Greene's ''Tu Quoque'') were also included. They came into possession also of some older plays, including [[Christopher Marlowe]]'s ''[[Edward II (play)|Edward II]]''. The audience appears to have disapproved of ''The White Devil'' in 1611, and in later years the Red Bull as the cause of, or scene of, noted riots which are recorded in court cases.{{sfn|Wickham|Berry|Ingram|2000|pp=569–570}}

In 1616, the Queen's men, now directed by [[impresario]] Christopher Beeston, moved into Beeston's new indoor [[Cockpit Theatre]].{{sfn|Griffith|2013|pp=232–233}} This was in emulation of the King's Men's acquirement of the Blackfriars, the company now having both the outdoor Red Bull and the Indoor Cockpit. On [[Shrove Tuesday]] 1617, a mob of apprentices attacked the Cockpit but the theatre was re-established and was a successful venue into the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]]. The first company was succeeded at the Red Bull by [[Prince Charles's Men]]. The disintegration of Queen Anna's men after [[Anne of Denmark|Anne's]] death in 1619 produced a little-understood reshuffling of these companies. In the decline of the Jacobean period, this company produced plays including Dekker and [[Philip Massinger|Massinger's]] ''The Virgin Martyr'', [[Thomas May]]'s ''The Heir'', and [[Gervase Markham]] and [[William Sampson (playwright)|William Sampson]]'s ''Herod and Antipater''.

After James's death, [[Charles I of England|Charles]] assumed patronage of the King's Men, and the former Prince Charles's Men disbanded. From this date, an even less reputable company took up residence at the Red Bull. Scholars generally call this troupe the Red Bull company, as the actors called themselves when in London; when touring, as they did frequently, they styled themselves the King's Players. In 1627, [[Henry Herbert (Master of the Revels)|Henry Herbert]], acting on a request from [[John Heminges]], ordered this company to cease performing Shakespeare's plays. In November 1629, the theatre hosted visiting French actors who had earlier played at the Fortune and [[Blackfriars Theatre]]; a contemporary reference may indicate that this troupe, which included women, was poorly received in Clerkenwell.

By 1634, the Red Bull housed a new company patronized by the child Prince [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. By this point, the Red Bull's reputation was tarnished. But the new company boasted a popular comedian, Andrew Cane, and it was able to survive the [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Privy Council's]] anger over the [[slander]]ous play ''The Whore New Vamped'', which mocked an [[alderman]] by name and complained of recently levied taxes.

===After 1642===
Along with all the other theatres in London, the Red Bull was [[London theatre closure 1642|closed for plays]] in 1642 by the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]]. In the short term, the prohibition was of limited effect; as late as 1648, the Red Bull hosted a performance of [[John Fletcher (playwright)|Fletcher's]] ''Wit Without Money''; advertisements for the performance were thrown into gentlemen's carriages. There followed a crackdown on performances by Parliament, which grew wiser to the real implications of advertisements for "rope dancing" and other entertainments at the old theatres.  On 20 December 1649, the Red Bull was successfully raided, a number of actors arrested and imprisoned, and their clothes and properties confiscated.

The Red Bull is the only theatre incontestably associated with [[droll]]s, brief farces taken from the most popular older plays. In 1653, [[Robert Cox (actor)|Robert Cox]] was arrested at the Red Bull for a performance which crossed the line and was deemed a play. Sir [[William Davenant]] and Sir [[Sir George Fletcher, 2nd Baronet|George Fletcher]] reportedly watched a play at the Red Bull in February or March 1655.<ref>Deborah C. Payne, "Patronage and the Dramatic Marketplace under Charles I and II", in {{harvnb|Brown|1993|p=167}}</ref> In September 1655, the Red Bull was raided again as part of the same sterner attitude that led Cromwell's soldiers to deface the Fortune and Blackfriars, and actors were arrested for performing there in 1659.

A collection of drolls was published by [[Francis Kirkman]], some attributed to "the incomparable Robert Cox", as ''The Wits'' (1662, and enlarged 1672–73). Kirkman said many had been performed at the Red Bull; however, the frontispiece to his volume does not necessarily represent a performance at the venue, as was once assumed—the drawing shows [[footlight]]s and a candelabra, whereas the Red Bull mounted only open-air, daylight performances.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Astington |first1=John H. |title=The Wits Illustration 1662 |journal=Theatre Notebook |date=1993 |volume=47 |pages=122–40}}</ref>{{sfn|Wickham|Berry|Ingram|2000|p=567}}

The theatre was re-opened in 1660 upon the Restoration of the monarchy, as home for [[Michael Mohun]]'s company and [[George Jolly]]'s troupe. Its new management returned to the business of staging crowd-pleasing drama; on 23 March 1661 [[Samuel Pepys]] recorded seeing a revival of [[William Rowley]]'s ''[[All's Lost by Lust]]'' there, but he notes that the work was "poorly done, with…much disorder". By the following year the building was given over to prize fights and public demonstrations of fencing.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Latham|editor-first1=Robert|editor-link1=Robert Latham (editor)|editor-last2= Matthews|editor-first2= William|title=The Diary of Samuel Pepys |volume=2|date=1970|publisher=Bell & Hyman|location=London|isbn=071351552X|page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pinks |first1=William J. |last2=Wood |first2=Edward J. |last3=Bromhead |first3=A. C. |title=The History of Clerkenwell |oclc=940376181 |pages=194–195|year=1865}}</ref> The Red Bull came to an end around 1665 or 1666, but this had nothing to do with the [[Great Fire of London]], which stopped some distance south.

Buildings were constructed on the site of the playhouse, but the situation of the passageway from the auditorium to St John Street can still be traced at its location off Hayward's Place. In 2018 [[Islington Council]] erected a [[Blue plaque|commemorative plaque]] to the theatre at 3 Hayward's Place.<ref>{{cite news |title=TV star unveils Islington Heritage Plaque to celebrate Red Bull Playhouse |url=https://www.islington.media/news/tv-star-unveils-islington-heritage-plaque-to-celebrate-red-bull-playhouse |access-date=9 July 2025 |work=Islington Council News}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Founded in 2003, Red Bull Theater of New York City takes its name and inspiration from the original Red Bull.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.redbulltheater.com/about |publisher=Red Bull Theater |access-date=20 October 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of English Renaissance theatres]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

===References===
*{{cite book |editor-last=Brown |editor-first=Charles Cedric |title=Patronage, Politics, and Literary Traditions in England, 1558–1658 |place=Detroit |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1993}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Griffith|first=Eva|author-link=Eva Griffith|year=2001|title=New Material for a Jacobean Theatre: The Red Bull Theatre on the Seckford Estate|journal=Theatre Notebook|volume=55}}
*{{ODNBweb|first=Eva|last=Griffith|authorlink=Eva Griffith|title=Bedingfeild [née Draper], Anne (1560–1641)|year=2008|origyear=2004|edition=online|id=74436|author-mask=2}}
*{{cite book|last=Griffith|first=Eva|author-link=Eva Griffith|editor-last=Dutton|editor-first=Richard|title=The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|chapter=Christopher Beeston: his Property and Properties|isbn=9780199287246|author-mask=2}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Griffith|first1=Eva|title=Martin Slatiar and the Red Bull Playhouse|journal=[[Huntington Library Quarterly]]|year=2011|volume=74|issue=4|pages=553–574|doi=10.1525/hlq.2011.74.4.553|author-mask=2}}
*{{cite book|first=Eva|last=Griffith|author-link=Eva Griffith|title=A Jacobean Company and its Playhouse: The Queen's Servants at the Red Bull Theatre (c.1605–1619)|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107041882|author-mask=2}}
*{{cite book|last1=Wickham|first1=Glynne|last2=Berry|first2=Herbert|last3=Ingram|first3=William|title=English Professional Theatre 1530–1660|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521230124}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Adams |first=J. Q.|author-link=Joseph Quincy Adams Jr.|title=Shakespearean Playhouses |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924016910543 |place=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1916|via=[[Internet Archive]]|ref=none}} {{Gutenberg book|no=22397|name={{Noitalic|Also}}|bullet=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Bentley |first=G. E.|author-link=Gerald Eades Bentley|title=The Jacobean and Caroline Stage |place=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1968|ref=none}} 7 volumes.
* {{cite book |last=Kirkman |first=Francis |author-link=Francis Kirkman |title=The Wits, or Sport Upon Sport |editor-first=John James |editor-last=Elson |place=Ithaca |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1932|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Thomson |first=Peter |title=The Cambridge History of British Theatre, Volume I, Origins to 1660 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004|ref=none}}

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[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1604]]
[[Category:1666 disestablishments]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington]]
[[Category:Former theatres in London]]
[[Category:1604 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Theatres completed in the 1600s]]