The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-07-13

Origin Of eur Drama - The I'm.
vanished Truth as to the
Lily DulnesS Com
ing Attractions,
Etc.
1t is ow 800 years since the first
permanent theatre was orene for
the production OF plays in the Eng
lish language. Previous to the year
1874 the strolling pltyers were looked
upon and ire ted as vagabonds, and
in order to escape the clutches or
the sharp punishment Of the loo j
magistrates, they travelled as the
servants Ct my lord this, OF the earl
that, as indeed they really were.
1hus one reads of the servants of
Lord Strange, those Of the Ears OF
Lsicester, Warwick, Derby, etc.,
these noblemen having enrolled the
players among their retainers aud
probably maintained and gwen
them wages part of the year, but
allowed them at other times to use
their names with licenses under
their hands, to make a living by en-
PERTAINING the pubh,. The English
nobility may, therefore, justly
claim to have t cen the first promo
teys and atrons Of the drama.
Il was the servants of the Earl Of
Leices ,er, who. in 1874, obtained
from the Queen a writ under the
privy seal, authorizing them to per-
form comedies, tragedies, inter-
ludes, stage plays and such others
Ike as they have already used and
studied, or hereafter shall use or
study, as well in The city of London
as throughout the realm OF Eng
land" When the 1lay ers prepared
to avail themselves Of this privl-
lege, a conflict OF authority arose
wh'ch compelled an alteration in
their plans. The mayor ami Corpor~
a ion OF London aeserte Their right
of control over all tram attic per-
for mances wi hin the limits OF the
city, and Issued orders providing,
among Other things, that the play
ers whom they m ght license should
contribute half tho receipts to
charitable purposes. As such an
Outrage on. tax would have made
he enterprise unremuners.ivt, the
p az ers selected a site beyond the
jurIsnict on Of the CT y, be- wen St
PaufS ant the river, where stood
the ru rs of the preat convent aud
church of the Dominican Black
| FIiars.
Some Of the dilapidated buildings
were nsde uss OF, snd the Black
friars' rnestre was opened to the
public in 1916. Italian plays were
adapted, Lstin plays translated, cpl
codes IN English b story dram atiz d,
| and a sort of dramatic atm sphere
generated in the English metropolis
The number of players increased,
and a memorial which they ed
dressed 10 the privy council in 1859
contained sixteen signatures, fall OF
them eharers sin the Blsckfiiars'
play house." Among these the
ninth on the list was George Peele,
dramatist, and the twelfth VIM.
Shakespeare. The Offices of lessee,
stage manager, actor and play
writer were all combined In the
same company of these early play
ers-they owned the theatre in
which tn y acted, furnished their
own stage, chose their own plays,
and to q greater or less extent wrote
them.
After having received the royal
license in 1874, this company ceased
to bear the name of the Earl OF
Leicester, but described themselves
as "Her MaiesIy's Poor Players. /"
The company that owned the Black
friars Theatre erected a new one
called the Globe In 1890, on the Bank
side, a position corresponding to one
on the presentThames embankment.
Shakespeare was interested in both
of these ventures, acting as actor,
reader, adapter, writer and man>
ager. A play house called The
Theater was built at Shoreditch,
UutSIuO JUG CltS 1iIulbcy Ouv q liGUlO
while after the Blackfriars was
opened, and near it another, called
| the Curtain; others called The
Swan, The Hope, The Rose, etc.
rapidly sprsng up,D and fit is esti-
mated thatnot less than 200 licensed
play houses existed in different
paris OF London ut the end of the
reign of Queen Elizabsth. All this
time, however, the players cons
tinued to designate themselves. and
tn be, the servants either of the
Queen OF Of some noble man, since,
without such protection, they
could not have exercised their call
ing either safely or profitably.
These primitive theatres, how.
ever, were rude in construction and
SURROUNDINGS. with imperfect sp-
planes. No scenery was used, q
curtain then, as now, met the eye OF
the spectator On entering, which,
when slowly drawn up, revealed a
stage streWn with ru-hes, the side
walls hung with arras, large
board with a name painted on it,
| b 4 L :