Probably few would agree that we should have two or three lectures on London theatre, in order to cover it all, but a lecture that only goes up to 1600 covers only fairly familiar ground.
Some interesting points: It's those Romans, again. They built theatres everywhere they conquered-- presumably to keep the populace in check. But violence, bread & circuses, a good outlet for the populace IS vey political. By the way, fun fact: a now lost play The Isle of Dogs (1580?) was considered so anitgovernment, the entire theatre company was arrested, all the theatres wee closed for a period, and only reopened after an official censor was installed to read, censor, and give a seal of approval to ALL plays. The V&A museum has a theatre section and there it is claimed that official censorship continued up to about 1955, when, allegedly, Tennessee Williams refused to allow the censor to alter his play Streetcar Named Desire.
Stonhenge, the mystery plays, the morality plays, all indicate that religion also was important.
The information about carnival is intriguing. Shakespeare in Twelfth Night covered that pretty well -- a time when you do "what you will." Some historians claim taht young William probably saw some of these travelling shows. The BBC film, In Search ofShakespeare covers this very well, especially the old balcony theatres.
It is always fun to go to the Globe. Their season begins in April -- with The Scottish Play. Best way is to buy a Groundling ticket and come early and get in line (er, queu). Beware: the ladies in charge inside will never allow you to crouch or sit down once in. But go early, get a seat (?) right next to the stage.
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