The development of
the drama. The theatres and actors
First Period
The development of
the drama in England was in close connection with the appearance and
development of the theatre. Since ancient times there existed in Europe two
stages upon which dramatic art developed. The chief place of performance was
the church, and second to it was the market place where clowns played their
tricks.
The church
exhibited Bible-stories, called "Mysteries"; they also had
"Miracles" which were about supernatural events in the lives of
saints. Both, the miracles and mysteries were directed by the clergy and acted
by boys of the choir on great holidays. It has become a tradition since then to
have men-actors for heroines on the English stage.
Second Period
Early in the 15th
century characters represented human qualities, such as Mercy, Sin, Justice and
Truth, began to be introduced into the miracle plays. The plays were called
"Moral plays" or "Moralities". They were concerned with
man's behaviour in this life. The devil figured in every ply and he was the
character always able to make the audience laugh. Moralities were acted in town
halls too.
Third Period
It was about the
time of King Henry VIII, when the Protestants drove theatricals out of the
church, that acting became a distinct profession in England. Now the actors
performed in inncourt yards, which were admirably suited to dramatic
performances consisting as they did of a large open court surrounded by two
galleries. A platform projected into the middle of the yard with dressing rooms
at the back, There was planty of standing room around the stage, and people
came running in crowds as soon as they heard the trumpets announcing the
beginning of a play. To make the audience pay for its entertainment, the actors
took advantage of the most thrilling moment of the plot: this was the proper
time to send the hat round for a collection.
The plays gradually
changed; moralities now gave way to plays where historical and actual
characters appeared. The popular clowns from the market-place never disappeared
from the stage. They would shove in between the parts of a play and talk the
crowds into anything.
The regular drama
from its very beginning was divided into comedy and tragedy. Many companies of
players had their own dramatists who were actors too.
As plays became
more complicated, special playhouses came into existence. The first regular
playhouse in London was built in what had been the Blackfriars Monastery where
miracle plays had been performed before the Reformation. It was built by James
Burbage and was
called "The Theatre" (a Greek word never used in England before).
Later, "The Rose", "The Curtain", "The Swan" and
many other playhouses appeared. These playhouses did not belong to any company
of players. Actors travelled from one place to another and hired a building for
their performances.
The actors and
their station in life.
During the reign of
Queen Elizabeth the laws against the poor were very cruel. Peasants who had
lost their lands and went from town to town in search of work were put into
prison as tramps. Actors were often accused of being tramps, so trave1ling
became impossible. The companies of players had to find themselves a patron
among the nobility and with the aid of obtain rights to travel and to perform.
Thus some players called themselves "The Earl of Leicester's Servants",
others-"The Lord Chamberlain's Men", and in 1583 the Queen appointed
certain actors "Grooms of the Chamber" All their plays were censored
lest there be anything against the Church or the government.
But the worst
enemies of the actors were the Puritans. They formed a religious sect in
England which wanted to purity the English Church from some forms that the
Church retained of roman Catholicism. The ideology of the Puritans was the
ideology of the smaller bourgeoisie who wished for a "cheaper church"
and who hoped they would become rich one day by careful living. They led a
modest and sober life. These principles, though moral at first sight, resulted
in a furious attack upon the stage. The companies of players were actually
locked out of the City because they thought acting a menace to public morality.
The big merchants
attacked the drama because players and playgoers caused them a lot of trouble:
the profits on beer went to proprietors of the inns and not to the merchants;
all sorts of people came to town, such as gamblers and thieves, during the hot
months of the year the plague was also spread strolling actors. Often
apprentices who were very much exploited by the merchants used to gather at
plays for the purpose of picking fights with their masters.
Towards the end of
the 16th century we find most of the playhouses far from the city proper.
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