De
Montfort University and the V&A Museum
Many
people are aware of the plays of William Shakespeare along with his famous
playhouse, the Globe on London’s Bankside. The Shakespearean London Theatres
(ShaLT) Knowledge Transfer project can now
tell the full story behind the vast theatrical scene that thrilled London for
over fifty years during the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I. This
was an early theatreland that thrived from the 1570s to the closure of all
theatres in 1642 when the civil wars began. Without the playhouses of the
Shakespearean period, the modern theatreland of London’s West End would not
have been possible.
This
project tells the illustrated story of the playhouses, entrepreneurs,
audiences, actors and dramatists that made up this founding theatrical
industry. Our printed Walking Map gives the locations of all of the London
theatres, offering those interested five suggested walks to visit the original
London sites, all within two miles’ radius of St Paul’s.
The
ShaLT project also offers further products and activities: a downloadable
version of the map; a smartphone App for use with the map; an open-access
website; a series of expert lectures at the V&A Museum from April to August
2013; a series of short filmed documentaries, and a printed, fully-illustrated
Guide.
The
project launches at the V&A Museum on Tuesday 23rd April, with further
lectures on selected Sundays between April and August.
Lecture
Details:
Join
us for a season of expert lectures on the rich theatrical culture of
Shakespearean playhouses that spread across Tudor and Stuart London from
1567–1642.
Location:
The Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre, V&A Museum
Discover
playhouses from the Theatre at Shoreditch and Bankside’s Rose to the
spectacular rise of venues like the Globe, Fortune and Blackfriars.
Presented
by Shakespearean London Theatres (ShaLT)
Launch
event: Tuesday 23 April, 14.00-16.30
Sunday
lectures: 28 April- 25 August, 15.00–16.30
£5
per lecture, booking essential
Book
all 11 and receive a 20% discount
Book
online at the V&A link above or call 020 7942 2211
Outline
of Lectures:
Tuesday
23 April
Why
Was the Globe Round?
Introductory
lecture by ShaLT Co-Investigator
Professor
Andrew Gurr (Reading University)
The
ways in which this affected the presentation
and
hearing of the plays are considered here and
in
the season of lectures to follow.
Sunday
28 April
The
People's Tragic Hero: Hieronimo and the Enduring
Popularity
of The Spanish Tragedy in the Early London
Theatre
Professor
Peter Womack (University of East Anglia)
This
lecture asks what it was about the play that
inspired
audiences to love and admire the play for
generations.
Sunday
5 May
Ben
Jonson, Bankside and the Blackfriars: A Biography of
London
Theatre Districts in the Seventeenth Century
Professor
Julie Sanders (University of Nottingham)
This
lecture will provide a cultural and social geography
of
the two main theatre districts, from basic theatre
architecture
to the buildings and practices abutting the
theatres
themselves.
Sunday
19 May
'Stuck
Up and Down About the City': Playbills in
Shakespeare's
London
Professor
Tiffany Stern (Oxford University)
This
talk will explore the way that London was 'textual',
being
covered in advertisements. But what does a playbill
convey
about performance - and how does it relate to plays
in
print?
Sunday
2 June
Virtual
Reality and London's Early Stages: Interacting with
The
Rose and Boar's Head Theatres in 3-D
Professor
Joanne Tompkins (Queensland University)
This
lecture demonstrates the conditions for performance in
two
of London's early modern theatres, namely the Rose Theatre
and
the Boar's Head Theatre.
Sunday
16 June
Rich
City, Poor City: The Royal Exchange and Debtors' Prison
on
the Early Modern Stage
Professor
Jean E. Howard (Columbia University)
This
illustrated lecture will discuss how the theatre focused
on
particular places in early modern London in order to make
vivid
the economic changes that were transforming urban life.
Sunday
30 June
Fashioning
the Face: Cosmetics, Glitter and Glamour at the
Blackfriars
Theatre
Dr
Farah Karim-Cooper (Shakespeare's Globe)
This
lecture will explore the relationship between cosmetic
materials,
candle light, spectators and the King's Men repertory
of
plays in the Blackfriars theatre.
Sunday
14 July
‘When
torchlight made an artificial noon’: Light
and Darkness in the Early Modern Indoor Playhouse, Then and Now
Professor
Martin White (Bristol University)
This
illustrated lecture examines and explores how performances
in
the early modern indoor playhouse were lit, and how this
lighting
influenced playwrights, actors and audiences.
Sunday
28 July
The
New Blackfriars: What an Early Modern Playhouse Teaches
Contemporary
Theatre
Professor
Ralph Alan Cohen (Mary Baldwin College & the
American
Shakespeare Centre)
This
illustrated talk will describe how re-creation of
Shakespeare's
indoor theatre has not only helped inform
our
understanding of works written for early modern theatres,
but
has also inspired new thinking about the theatrical
transaction
with transformative implications for the roles
of
actor, audience, and director.
Sunday
11 August
1+1=3:
Why Shakespeare Collaborated with Other
Playwrights
Professor
Gary Taylor (Florida State University)
Theatre
as an art form originates in dialogue, and - as
plays
like Timon of Athens and All is True demonstrate - the
interaction
between duelling artistic egos can inspire
theatrical
experiences that neither poet could have imagined
on
his own.
Sunday
25 August
Exeunt
Players: Why did the Playhouses Close?
Professor
Martin Butler (Leeds University)
This
lecture will look at the reasons for their suppression
and
explores the impact of Civil War politics on
play-going
in London.
Please
Note: The launch on 23rd April begins at 14.00 (with Professor Gurr's lecture
at 15.00) while all other lectures start at 15.00.
