Blackfriars Theatre
The black robes worn by members of the Dominican order lent the neighbourhood and its theatres their name. This site stood between the Thames and Ludgate Hill within London proper during Tudor years. Henry VIII expropriated monastic property after his break with Rome, transferring control to Sir Thomas Cawarden. Cawarden used part of the monastery as Revels offices while leasing other sections to wealthy residents like Lord Cobham. In 1576 Richard Farrant leased part of the former buttery from Sir William More to stage plays. Farrant claimed royal necessity for child choristers but also staged plays for paying audiences. The theatre measured perhaps thirty feet long and twenty wide. Admission cost six pence in the gallery or three shillings for a box close to the stage. These prices limited attendance to well-to-do gentry and nobles.
Farrant combined his Windsor children with the Children of the Chapel Royal directed by William Hunnis. After Farrant died in 1580 Hunnis took on John Newman as partner. They subleased the property from Farrant's widow putting up a £100 bond for repairs. Financial troubles led Farrant to sue Hunnis and Newman for default in November 1583. Evans transferred the sublease to Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford after Michaelmas Term. Lyly installed Evans as manager of Oxford's Boys composed of the Children of the Chapel and Paul's. Campaspe appeared at Blackfriars before performing at Court on New Year's Day 1584. Sapho and Phao premiered at Blackfriars on Shrove Tuesday then moved to court on the 3rd of March. More obtained legal judgement voiding the original lease at the end of Easter Term June 1584 ending the first playhouse after eight years.
In 1596 James Burbage purchased the frater of the former priory and rooms below for £600. This large space measured perhaps fifty feet long and thirty wide with high ceilings. Carpenter Peter Street constructed two galleries substantially increasing potential attendance. Estimates of capacity varied from below six hundred to almost one thousand spectators. A petition from residents led by Lady Elizabeth Russell persuaded the Privy Council to forbid playing there. Lord Hunsdon patron of Burbage's company signed the letter along with Richard Field. Three years later Richard Burbage leased the property to Henry Evans who had been ejected more than fifteen years earlier. Evans entered a partnership with Nathaniel Giles Hunnis's successor at the Chapel Royal. They used the theatre for commercial enterprise combining choristers with boys taken from local grammar schools. The method brought famous actors including Nathaniel Field and Salmon Pavy.
Blackfriars became source of innovations that profoundly changed English commercial staging. It was among first commercial theatrical enterprises to rely on artificial lighting. Music played between acts practice which induction to Marston's The Malcontent indicates was not common in public theatres. Thomas Middleton Ben Jonson George Chapman and John Marston produced plays here. Chapman and Jonson wrote almost exclusively for Blackfriars during this period. New plays deliberately pushed boundaries of personal social satire violence and sexual frankness. Admission price of sixpence for cheap seat probably excluded poorer patrons of amphitheatres. Gallants and Inns of Court men came both to see play and be seen. Private theatres sold seats on stage itself allowing closer audience interaction.
In 1608 Burbage's company known as King's Men took possession of theatre without neighbourhood objections. Originally seven sharers reorganised theatre included Richard Burbage William Shakespeare Henry Condell John Heminges and William Sly. Cuthbert Burbage and Thomas Evans agent for manager Henry Evans completed the group. Sly died soon after arrangement made with share divided among other six shareholders. After renovations King's Men began using theatre for performances in 1609. They played in Blackfriars for seven months winter while performing at Globe during summer. Blackfriars brought little over twice revenue of Globe Theatre. Shareholders could earn as much as £13 from single performance apart from actor payments. Queen Henrietta Maria attended performances including Philip Massinger play on the 13th of May 1634.
Blackfriars likely first stage where English public experienced women acting onstage during Charles I reign. Women remained forbidden on English stage throughout first half of seventeenth century. Foreign theatre companies introduced female actors since women performed on continent. In November 1629 French theatre company made guest appearance at Blackfriars Theatre. Actresses were hissed booed and pippin-pelted from stage by angry audience. No native English actresses able to perform until forty years after this event. The English audience rejected foreign actresses despite their presence. This brief experiment highlighted cultural resistance to female performers before eventual acceptance decades later.
Theatre closed at onset of English Civil War when all theatres shut down in 1642. Entire area destroyed in Great Fire of London in 1666. Blackfriars Theatre demolished on the 6th of August 1655 according to Halliday's records. The physical destruction marked end of original structure that had stood for nearly a century. Previous attempts to rebuild or repurpose the site failed due to political instability. The location remained vacant for many years following demolition. Historical records show no surviving architectural elements from original buildings.
American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse opened September 2001 in Staunton Virginia. Completed at cost of $3.7 million with three hundred seats. Architect Tom McLaughlin based design on seventeenth-century theatre plans and research. Lighting imitates original Blackfriars practices using candles rather than electric bulbs. Sam Wanamaker Playhouse opened January 2014 on Bankside London adjoining Shakespeare's Globe. Cost reached £7.5 million for oak structure inside brick shell. Jon Greenfield collaborated with Allies and Morrison on design featuring thrust stage and musicians gallery. Seating capacity holds three hundred forty people with benches pit and two horse-shoe galleries. Shutters admit artificial daylight while beeswax candles provide illumination when closed. These reconstructions preserve historical staging methods for modern audiences.
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Common questions
What is Blackfriars Theatre and where was it located?
Blackfriars Theatre was a former theatre in London situated between the Thames and Ludgate Hill during Tudor years. The name derived from the black robes worn by members of the Dominican order who originally occupied the monastery site.
When did Richard Farrant lease part of the monastery to stage plays at Blackfriars Theatre?
Richard Farrant leased part of the former buttery from Sir William More in 1576 to stage plays. This venture ended when More obtained legal judgement voiding the original lease at the end of Easter Term June 1584 after eight years of operation.
How much did admission cost for different seating areas at Blackfriars Theatre?
Admission cost six pence in the gallery or three shillings for a box close to the stage. These prices limited attendance to well-to-do gentry and nobles while excluding poorer patrons of amphitheatres.
Who were the shareholders of King's Men when they took possession of Blackfriars Theatre in 1608?
Originally seven sharers reorganised the theatre including Richard Burbage William Shakespeare Henry Condell John Heminges and William Sly. Cuthbert Burbage and Thomas Evans agent for manager Henry Evans completed the group before Sly died soon after arrangement made with share divided among other six shareholders.
What happened during the November 1629 French theatre company guest appearance at Blackfriars Theatre?
Actresses were hissed booed and pippin-pelted from stage by angry audience during the November 1629 French theatre company guest appearance at Blackfriars Theatre. No native English actresses able to perform until forty years after this event as the English audience rejected foreign actresses despite their presence.
When was Blackfriars Theatre demolished and what caused its closure?
Blackfriars Theatre closed at onset of English Civil War when all theatres shut down in 1642. The physical structure was demolished on the 6th of August 1655 according to Halliday's records following destruction in Great Fire of London in 1666.