Complex sentence: This was a time of enormous talent and provoked great interest in theatre; one in eight Londoners regularly watched performances of Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson and others, a rate only matched by cinema around 1925-1939.
Split into simpler sentences: This was a time of enormous talent, resulting in great interest in theatre. One in eight Londoners regularly watched performances of Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson and others, a rate only matched since by cinema around 1925-1939.