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1576
Behold: The First London theatre!
James Burbage built the very first London theatre in 1576 at Finsbury Fields, Shoreditch with his brother-in-law John Brayne, appropriately named 'The Theatre'. James Burbage died in February 1597. -
Oldest Survived Old Theatre of 1585
After 5 years of construction, the theatre Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy hosted its first performance with Sophocles's Oedipus the King. The Teatro Olimpico is now the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. -
Thearte in Spain and USA
From 1590 to 1681, Spain saw a monumental increase in the production pf live threatre as well as the importance of theatre within Spanish society which they called this "The Golden Age." Theatre in the USA started as ritual performance by Native Americans and then became another sort of ritual based on medieval European Christian morality plays. -
What About Shakespeare's Plots? His Plays?
Shakespeare did not come up with most of his plots. Many were already well known stories, plays, or histories. Shakespeare's characters refer to love 2,259 times. They refer to hate only 183 times. -
Richard Burbage
Leading the acting troupe called the King's Men. Shakespeare's friend, actor Richard Burbage first performs Hamlet at the Globe Threatre in London that was opened in 1599 by Shakespeare himself. -
It Burns!
On June 29, 1613, the first Globe Theatre in London burned down when a prop cannon being used in a performance of Henry VIII ignited the thatched roof and set the building alight. It took only two hours for the entire structure to be destroyed but no one was hurt. -
Oh, The Tragedy! Shakespeare's Death
On April 23, William Shakespeare dies. In his last will and testament signed on 25th of March 1616, just under a month before his death, the only thing he left to his wife was his 'second best bed'. -
Who Knows? Shakespeare's plays
Shakespeare never actually published any of his plays. They are known today only because two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, recorded and published 36 of them posthumously under the name 'The First Folio', which is the source of all Shakespeare books published. -
Ben Jonson Passes On
Playwright Ben Jonson died on August 6, 1637 and was buried in an upright position in the north aisle of name in Westminster Abby, London as an indication of his circumstances at the time of his death. From research, Ben Jonson was an English playwright and poet with a lasting influence upon English stage comedy. -
Theatre Outlawed!!
In England, at the outbreak of the English Civil War, the authorities banned the performance of all plays within the city limits of London. Theatre was outlawed, but music was not, so many playwrights started writing libretto for opera. -
Who Was Moliere?
"Moliere" was in reality only the stage name assumed when, as a young man. Jean Baptiste Poquelin (born in Paris, France in 1622) joined a group of strolling players. So famous did he make it, that few of us today recognize the surname "Poquelin." Researches states that Moliere was considered the creator of modern French comedy. -
Gone Rouge?
In Cromwell's reign, between 1647 and 1660 a British law was passed officially classifying actors as rogues. -
Restoration of Theatre!
After public stage performances had been banned for 18 years by the Puritan regime, with the restoration of the monarch, theaters re-opened in 1660 signaling the restoration of theatre. English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 are collectively called "Restoration Comedy," encouraged by King Charles II.