Thomas Platter visits London theatres, 1599

On the 21St of September, after the mid-day meal, about two o'clock, I and my company went over the water [i.e. across the Thames] and saw in the house with the thatched roof the tragedy of the first Emperor Julius Caesar quite aptly performed. At the end of the play according to their custom they danced quite exceedingly finely, two got up in men's clothing and two in women's [dancing] wonderfully together. At another time, not far from our inn in the suburbs, at Bishopsgate according to my memory, again after lunch, I saw a play where they presented different nations with which each time an Englishman struggled over a young woman, and overcame them all, with the exception of the German who won the girl in a struggle, sat down beside her, and drank himself tipsy with his servant, so that the two were both drunk, and the servant threw a shoe at his master's head, and both fell asleep. In the meantime the Englishman crept into the tent, and carried off the German's prize, and thus outwitted the German in turn. In conclusion they danced in English and Irish fashion quite skillfully.

And so every day at two o'clock in the afternoon in the city of London sometimes two sometimes three plays are given in different places, which compete with each other and those which perform best have the largest number of listeners. The playing places are so constructed that [the actors] play on a raised scaffold, and everyone can see everything. However there are different areas and galleries where one can sit more comfortably and better, and where one accordingly pays more. Thus whoever wants to stand below pays only one English penny, but if he wishes to sit, he enters through another door where he gives a further penny, but if he wants to sit in the most comfortable place on a cushion, where he will not only see everything but also be seen, he gives at another door a further English penny. And during each play things to eat and drink are brought round among the people, of which one may partake for whatever one cares to pay. The actors are dressed in a very expensive and splendid fashion, since it is the custom in England when notable lords or knights die they bequeath and leave their servants almost the finest of their clothes which, because it is not fitting for them to wear such clothes, they offer [them] for purchase to the actors for a small sum of money. How much time they can happily spend each day at the play, everyone knows who has seen them act or perform.

The site of the Rose was discovered during building works in 1989. After a major campaign, part of the foundations has remained on view in the basement of a modern commercial building. The excavations show clearly the polygonal shape of this building. It was also apparent from a study of the remains that the building had been expanded in the course of its life. Coincidentally, 1989 also saw the excavation of a small part of the foundations of the Globe. This gave a good indication of the shape of the building, being almost circular.

The building contract for the Fortune tells us that the woodwork of the interior was painted in order to imitate the appearance of marble, like Italian theatres. The underside of the stage canopy was painted with sun, moon and stars and probably the signs of the zodiac. The Hope theatre was built on the site of the bear-bating arena and was a dual-purpose theatre, adaptable to both animal acts and drama.

HOW MUCH DO THE LONDON PLAYHOUSES OWE TO ANCIENT ROME?

To begin, it is worthwhile listing obvious similarities:

- Curved structure, at odds with most contemporaneous buildings, and indeed modern theatres.

- Large raised stage, roofed over

- Elaborate stage decoration, evocative of general opulence rather than background to the play

- The yard area is reminiscent of the orchestra pit, being an open area in front of the stage

- Steeply banked seating affording uninterrupted views for the spectator

- Marbled pillars, evoking classical motifs.

While these factors cover all of the main elements of theatre design, it should be remembered that the theatres were purely commercial buildings and were constructed solely with the intention of maximising takings while minimising cost. In doing so however, it is not inconceivable that the architects, like so many important Renaissance figures, looked to Rome for their inspiration. A cautionary note comes from Andrew Gurr, who in The Shakespearean Stage points to the similarity of the design of the theatres to the animal-bating arenas. He does not however refer to the close similarity between the design and function of these arenas and the Roman Amphitheatres. It could be then, that part of the genesis of the popular vibrant and often violent London stage was not the refined culture of classical theatre which was to inspire the Italian drama, but the savagery of animal-bating shows, themselves the successors to the gratuitous violence of the Roman Amphitheatres.

Write an outline of the text.

Retell the text according to the plan (work in groups).

Write an annotation or prйcis of the above text.

2. Before reading write at least ten words you associate with the words theatre and cinema. Is art an important part of your life?

Read the text and retell it according to the plan:

theatres in Britain;

musical life in the country;

cinema and television;

governmental subsidies to art.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14