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67-571: The Salisbury Court Theatre was a theatre in 17th-century London . It was in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Court , which was formerly the London residence of the Bishops of Salisbury . Salisbury Court was acquired by Richard Sackville in 1564 during the last seven years of his life when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Queen Elizabeth ; when Thomas Sackville was created Earl of Dorset in 1604,

134-741: A Wife and Have a Wife on 1 April. (All dates new style .) The building burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was replaced in 1671 by the Dorset Garden Theatre , which was built slightly further south to a design by Christopher Wren . The theatre is commemorated by a plaque on the Dorset Rise (east) side of the corporate building on the south side of Salisbury Square. 51°30′47.9″N 0°6′22.4″W  /  51.513306°N 0.106222°W  / 51.513306; -0.106222 Theatre (structure) A theater , or playhouse ,

201-564: A darkened theater, sound effects, and seating arrangements (lowering the orchestra pit ) which focused the attention of audience on the stage, completely immersing them in the imaginary world of the music drama. These concepts were revolutionary at the time, but they have since come to be taken for granted in the modern operatic environment as well as many other types of theatrical endeavors. Contemporary theaters are often non-traditional, such as very adaptable spaces, or theaters where audience and performers are not separated. A major example of this

268-448: A hanamichi stage with her entourage. The stage is used not only as a walkway or path to get to and from the main stage, but important scenes are also played on the stage. Kabuki stages and theaters have steadily become more technologically sophisticated, and innovations including revolving stages and trap doors were introduced during the 18th century. A driving force has been the desire to manifest one frequent theme of kabuki theater, that of

335-425: A high-ceilinged interior. Within the large temple has a stage inside which is a large platform with its own pyramid roof. The stage area is separate from the audience area with the musician (a drummer on a high seat) behind the stage, and dressing rooms also at the rear with exit doors behind. The audience would be seated on a smooth, polished floor. Several Koothambalams exist within several Indian temples, and follow

402-465: A large degree, encouraged the radical political groups which emerged when the usual social controls broke down during the civil war. It had also unwittingly established a new political force when it set up the New Model Army. Not surprisingly, all these groups had their own hopes for the new Commonwealth. Led by John Lilburne , Levellers drew their main support from London and the New Model Army. In

469-535: A naturally occurring site. The auditorium (literally "place for hearing" in Latin) was the area in which people gathered, and was sometimes constructed on a small hill or slope in which stacked seating could be easily made in the tradition of the Greek Theatres. The central part of the auditorium was hollowed out of a hill or slope, while the outer radian seats required structural support and solid retaining walls. This

536-417: A production, often called a black box theater , due to the common practice of the walls being painted black and hung with black drapes. Usually in a building used specifically for performance there are offstage spaces used by the performers and crew. This is where props , sets , and scenery are stored, and the performers standby before their entrance. These offstage spaces are called wings on either side of

603-439: A proscenium stage. A prompter's box may be found backstage. In an amphitheater, an area behind the stage may be designated for such uses while a blackbox theater may have spaces outside of the actual theater designated for such uses. Often a theater will incorporate other spaces intended for the performers and other personnel. A booth facing the stage may be incorporated into the house where lighting and sound personnel may view

670-448: A theater. They may range from open-air amphitheaters to ornate, cathedral -like structures to simple, undecorated rooms or black box theaters . A thrust stage as well as an arena stage are just a few more examples of the multitude of stages where plays can occur. A theatre used for opera performances is called an opera house . A theater is not required for performance (as in environmental theater or street theater ), this article

737-427: A tradition called "stage dooring" that some fans participate in, in which fans wait outside of the stage door after the show in hopes of getting an autograph from the actors. The acting or performance space is the stage. In some theaters, such as proscenium theaters , arena theaters and amphitheaters, this area is permanent part of the structure. In some theaters the stage area can be changed and adapted specifically to

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804-456: A transposition, the recurrence of the pediment with the later solidified stone scene. In front of the skene there may have been a raised acting area called the proskenion , the ancestor of the modern proscenium stage. It is believed that the actors (as opposed to the chorus) acted entirely on the proskenion , but this is not certain. Rising from the circle of the orchestra was the audience. The audience sat on tiers of benches built up on

871-486: A vertical dimension. The Indian Koothambalam temple is a space used to perform Sanskrit drama . Called the koothambalam or kuttampalam, it is a large high-caste rectangular, temple in Kerala which represented a “visual sacrifice” to any deities or gods of the temple. They were built for kutiyattam or “combined acting” performances, which only two dramas are performed today. The temple has a pyramidal roof, with high walls, and

938-560: A very similar scale. The Salisbury Court was built at a cost of £1,000 by Richard Gunnell , a veteran actor and the manager of the Fortune, and William Blagrave, deputy to Sir Henry Herbert , Master of the Revels . At some point in the middle of the 1630s, control of the theatre passed to the "dictatorial management" of Richard Heton, who was in charge by October 1635. (Gunnell died in late 1634 or early 1635, while Blagrave would die in 1636.) During

1005-589: Is a structure where theatrical works, performing arts , and musical concerts are presented. The theater building serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility usually is organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members, as well as the stage where the performance takes place. There are as many types of theaters as there are types of performance. Theaters may be built specifically for certain types of productions, they may serve for more general performance needs or they may be adapted or converted for use as

1072-405: Is about structures used specifically for performance. Some theaters may have a fixed acting area (in most theaters this is known as the stage ), while some theaters, such as black box theaters have movable seating allowing the production to create a performance area suitable for the production. A theater building or structure contains spaces for an event or performance to take place, usually called

1139-469: Is associated with the performers and their actions. The stage is made entirely of unfinished hinoki , a Japanese cypress, with almost no decorative elements. The poet and novelist Toson Shimazaki writes that "on the stage of the Noh theater there are no sets that change with each piece. Neither is there a curtain. There is only a simple panel ( kagami-ita ) with a painting of a green pine tree . This creates

1206-404: Is considered symbolic and treated with reverence both by the performers and the audience. The stage includes a large square platform, devoid of walls or curtains on three sides, and traditionally with a painting of a pine tree at the back. The platform is elevated above the place where the audience sits, which is covered in white gravel soil. The four stage corners are marked by cedar pillars, and

1273-668: Is the modular theater, notably the Walt Disney Modular Theater . This large theater has floors and walls divided into small movable sections, with the floor sections on adjustable pneumatric piston, so that the space may be adjusted into any configuration for each individual play. As new styles of theater performance have evolved, so has the desire to improve or recreate performance venues. This applies equally to artistic and presentation techniques, such as stage lighting . Specific designs of contemporary live theaters include proscenium , thrust , black box theater , theater in

1340-583: The City of London , between Fleet Street and the River Thames , in a building converted from a barn or granary in the grounds of Dorset House. An enclosed "private" venue like the Blackfriars Theatre , it was a successor to the earlier Whitefriars Theatre (which had been just on the other side of Water Lane) and the short-lived Porter's Hall Theatre , and catered to an upscale and elite audience—in contrast to

1407-525: The Edinburgh Fringe has seen performances in an taxi . The traditional stage used in Noh theater is based on a Chinese pattern. It is completely open, providing a shared experience between the performers and the audience throughout the play. Without any prosceniums or curtains to obstruct the view, the audience sees each actor at moments even before entering the primary platform of the stage. The theater itself

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1474-518: The Elizabethan era in England , theaters were constructed of wooden framing, infilled with wattle and daub and roofed with thatch . Mostly the theaters were entirely open air. They consisted of several floors of covered galleries surrounding a courtyard which was open to the elements. A large portion of the audience would stand in the yard, directly in front of the stage. This layout is said to derive from

1541-668: The Rump Parliament . In 1653, the Grandees, with Oliver Cromwell leading these reformists, dismissed the Rump Parliament, replacing it with a Nominated Assembly (nicknamed the Parliament of Saints or Barebone's Parliament ). This Barebone's Parliament was composed of 140 nominees, 129 from England and Wales, five from Scotland and six from Ireland. It proved to be as difficult for the executive to work with this Parliament as it had with

1608-648: The first Protectorate Parliament , ushering in a period of military Rule of the Major-Generals . The Instrument of Government was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, and last, codified constitution, the Humble Petition and Advice . However Cromwell died the next year, and his nominated successor as Lord Protector, his son Richard , proved unable to govern effectively as various political parties strove to gain power. The Protectorate came to an end in May 1659 when

1675-432: The orchestra was a large rectangular building called the skene (meaning "tent" or "hut"). [1] It was used as a "backstage" area where actors could change their costumes and masks, but also served to represent the location of the plays, which were usually set in front of a palace or house. Typically, there were two or three doors in the skene that led out onto orchestra, and from which actors could enter and exit. At first,

1742-458: The orchestra , the skene , and the audience. The centerpiece of the theater was the orchestra , or "dancing place", a large circular or rectangular area. The orchestra was the site of the choral performances, the religious rites, and, possibly, the acting. An altar was located in the middle of the orchestra; in Athens, the altar was dedicated to Dionysus , the god of wine and the theater. Behind

1809-499: The skene was literally a tent or hut, put up for the religious festival and taken down when it was finished. Later, the skene became a permanent stone structure. These structures were sometimes painted to serve as backdrops, hence the English word scenery . A temple nearby, especially on the right side of the scene, is almost always part of the Greek theater complex, which could justify, as

1876-400: The stage , and also spaces for the audience, theater staff, performers and crew before and after the event. There are usually two main entrances of a theater building. One is at the front, used by the audience, and leads into a foyer and ticketing. The second is called the stage door, and it is accessible from backstage. This is where the cast and crew enter and exit the theater, and there is

1943-497: The "chosen ones"; and Fifth Monarchy Men , who opposed all "earthly" governments, believing they must prepare for God's kingdom on earth by establishing a "government of saints". Despite greater toleration, extreme sects were opposed by the upper classes as they were seen as a threat to social order and property rights. Catholics were also excluded from the toleration applied to the other groups. Conservatives were still dominant in both central government and local government . In

2010-510: The 1630s, the theatre was occupied at various times by the King's Revels Men (1630–31 and 1633–36), by Prince Charles's Men (1631–33), and by Queen Henrietta's Men (1637–42); for a time it was a major locus of dramatic activity, a main rival to the theatrical establishment run by Christopher Beeston at the Cockpit and Red Bull theatres. [See: Richard Brome .] Salisbury Court

2077-459: The 1649 An Agreement of the People , they asked for a more representative and accountable Parliament, to meet every two years; a reform of law so it would be available to and fair to all; and religious toleration. They wanted a more democratic society, although their proposed franchise did not extend to women or to the lowest orders of society. Levellers saw the Rump Parliament as little better than

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2144-737: The Commonwealth Parliament. Rabbi Menasseh Ben Israel met Cromwell in 1655 in order to discuss the admission of Jews into England. Cromwell did not agree to all the rights that Ben Israel requested, but the opening of Jewish synagogues and burial grounds was tolerated under Cromwell's Protectorate. The Jewish faith was still not practised openly in England, since Cromwell's move had been controversial and many in England were still hostile toward Jews. Life for Jews in England improved in that they could no longer be prosecuted if caught worshipping, yet discrimination continued. Parliament had, to

2211-409: The Grandees recalled the Rump Parliament, which authorised a Committee of Safety to replace Richard's Council of State. This ushered in a period of unstable government, which did not come to an end until February 1660 when General George Monck , the English military governor of Scotland, marched to London at the head of his troops, and oversaw the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. After

2278-664: The Levellers were closer to espousing). They advocated a lifestyle that bore many similarities to later understandings of communism and anarchism , with communal ownership of land, and equality for males and females in law and education. They existed in only very small numbers and faced a very strong opposition, even from the Levellers. The breakdown of religious uniformity and incomplete Presbyterian Settlement of 1646 enabled independent churches to flourish. The main sects of English Dissenters were Baptists , who advocated adult rebaptism ; Ranters , who claimed that sin did not exist for

2345-757: The Parliamentarian victory in the English Civil War , the Puritan views of the majority of Parliament and its supporters began to be imposed on the rest of the country. The Puritans advocated an austere lifestyle and restricted what they saw as the excesses of the previous regime. Most prominently, holidays such as Christmas and Easter were suppressed. Pastimes such as the theatre and gambling were also banned. However, some forms of art that were thought to be "virtuous", such as opera, were encouraged. These changes are often credited to Cromwell, though they were introduced by

2412-458: The Rump Parliament, so after sitting for five months, members friendly to the Grandees engendered its dissolution on 12 December 1653. The Instrument of Government was adopted on 15 December 1653, Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on the following day. The Instrument of Government granted executive power to the Lord Protector. Although this post was elective, not hereditary, it

2479-746: The Salisbury Court on 6 October 1647, breaking up a performance of A King and No King by Beaumont and Fletcher .) On 1 January 1649, the London authorities raided all four of the London theatres simultaneously; the actors at the Salisbury Court Theatre and the Cockpit Theatre were arrested, as was a "rope-dancer" or trapeze artist performing at the Fortune Theatre —but the actors at the Red Bull Theatre managed to escape. In March 1649,

2546-565: The Whitefriars Theatre). Pepys' famous Diary provides information on the plays acted at the Salisbury Court Theatre immediately after the theatres re-opened. He saw Fletcher's The Mad Lover on 9 February 1661; Middleton and Rowley's The Changeling on 23 February ( Thomas Betterton played De Flores); Massinger's The Bondman on 1 March (Betterton again); Fletcher and Massinger's The Spanish Curate on 16 March; Heywood's Love's Mistress on 2 March; and Fletcher's Rule

2613-494: The arrangement we see most frequently today, with a stage separated from the audience by a proscenium arch. This coincided with a growing interest in scenic elements painted in perspective, such as those created by Inigo Jones , Nicola Sabbatini and the Galli da Bibiena family . The perspective of these elements could only be viewed properly from the center back of the auditorium, in the so-called "duke's chair." The higher one's status,

2680-559: The authorities destroyed the interior of the Salisbury Court theatre, and the Fortune and the Cockpit too, making them useless for public performances. After years of being banned in the Interregnum , theatre was again permitted on the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, with the grant of two Letters patent to two companies to perform "legitimate drama" in London. The Salisbury Court Theatre

2747-419: The building was renamed Dorset House. (His grandson, Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset , was Queen Henrietta Maria's Lord Chamberlain in the 1630s, and was a prime mover in theatre and drama in London in that era, including the force behind the founding of this theatre.) According to contemporary chronicler Edmund Howes, "a new faire Play-house" was erected in 1629, just to the west of the medieval walls of

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2814-417: The city of London. Around this time, the green room , a place for actors to wait until required on stage, became common terminology in English theaters. The Globe has now been rebuilt as a fully working and producing theater near its original site (largely thanks to the efforts of film director Sam Wanamaker ) to give modern audiences an idea of the environment for which Shakespeare and other playwrights of

2881-598: The closer they would be seated to this vantage point, and the more the accurately they would be able to see the perspective elements. The first enclosed theaters were court theaters, open only to the sovereigns and the nobility. The first opera house open to the public was the Teatro San Cassiano (1637) in Venice. The Italian opera houses were the model for the subsequent theaters throughout Europe. Richard Wagner placed great importance on "mood setting" elements, such as

2948-460: The end, it was impossible to make all the political factions happy. During the Interregnum, Cromwell lost much of the support he had gained during the civil war. Edward Sexby , previously a supporter of Cromwell's, felt disenfranchised by Cromwell's failure to abolish the aristocracy . In 1657, Silius Titus called for Cromwell's assassination in a co-authored pamphlet Killing No Murder under

3015-482: The festival for which they were erected concluded. This practice was due to a moratorium on permanent theatre structures that lasted until 55 BC when the Theatre of Pompey was built with the addition of a temple to avoid the law. Some Roman theatres show signs of never having been completed in the first place. Inside Rome, few theatres have survived the centuries following their construction, providing little evidence about

3082-513: The former, the Rump Parliament was anxious not to offend the traditional ruling class whose support it needed for survival, so it opposed radical ideas. In the latter, that ruling class dominated through the influence of traditional regional gentry. The Interregnum was a relatively short but important period in the history of the British Isles. There were several political experiments without any stable form of government emerging, largely because of

3149-419: The impression that anything that could provide any shading has been banished. To break such monotony and make something happen is no easy thing." Another unique feature of the stage is the hashigakari , a narrow bridge at upstage right used by actors to enter the stage. Hashigakari means "suspension bridge", signifying something aerial that connects two separate worlds on a same level. The bridge symbolizes

3216-455: The monarchy it had replaced, and they showed their displeasure in demonstrations, pamphlets and mutinies. While their numbers did not pose a serious threat to the government, they scared the Rump Parliament into action, and a Treasons Act was passed against them in 1649. Led by Gerrard Winstanley , Diggers wanted an even more coercively equal society than the Levellers (in the sense of "equality of outcome", not "equality of opportunity" which

3283-531: The mythic nature of Noh plays in which otherworldly ghosts and spirits frequently appear. In contrast, hanamichi in Kabuki theaters is literally a path ( michi ) that connects two spaces in a single world, thus has a completely different significance. The Japanese kabuki stage features a projection called a hanamichi (花道; literally, flower path), a walkway which extends into the audience and via which dramatic entrances and exits are made. Okuni also performed on

3350-495: The open-air theatres like the Globe , Fortune , and Red Bull theatres that served a mass audience (especially in the latter two cases). Little is known about the actual form and shape of the Salisbury Court Theatre. Yet since it was on a plot of land 42 feet (13 meters) wide, it may have resembled, to some greater or lesser degree, the plan for a small theatre drawn by Inigo Jones in the later Jacobean or Caroline era, which adheres to

3417-777: The period were writing. During the Renaissance , the first modern enclosed theaters were constructed in Italy. Their structure was similar to that of ancient theaters, with a cavea and an architectural scenery, representing a city street. The oldest surviving examples of this style are the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza (1580) and the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta (1590). At the beginning of 17th century theaters had moved indoors and began to resemble

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3484-507: The practice of holding plays in the yard of an inn. Archaeological excavations of The Rose theater at London's Bankside , built 1587, have shown that it had en external diameter of 72 feet (22 metres). The nearby Globe Theatre (1599) was larger, at 100 feet (30 metres). Other evidence for the round shape is a line in Shakespeare's Henry V which calls the building "this wooden O ", and several rough woodcut illustrations of

3551-494: The pseudonym of William Allen. Sexby was captured when he returned to England and attempted to carry out the assassination described in Titus' book. Cromwell coerced Sexby into confessing authorship of the pamphlet and then imprisoned him in the Tower of London , where Sexby was driven to insanity, dying there less than a year later. High taxes required by the large standing army , kept due to

3618-459: The round , amphitheater , and arena . In the classical Indian dance , Natya Shastra defines three stage types. In Australia and New Zealand a small and simple theater, particularly one contained within a larger venue, is called a theatrette . The word originated in 1920s London, for a small-scale music venue. Theatrical performances can also take place in venues adapted from other purposes, such as train carriages. For instance, in recent years

3685-561: The same rectangular plan and structure. English Interregnum The politics of the period were dominated by the wishes of the Grandees (senior officers) of the New Model Army and their civilian supporters. They encouraged (or at least tolerated) several republican regimes. From 1649 until 1653 executive powers lay with the Council of State , while legislative functions were carried out by

3752-418: The show and run their respective instruments. Other rooms in the building may be used for dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, spaces for constructing sets, props and costumes , as well as storage. All theaters provide a space for an audience. In a fixed seating theatre the audience is often separated from the performers by the proscenium arch. In proscenium theaters and amphitheaters , the proscenium arch, like

3819-473: The side of a hill. Greek theaters, then, could only be built on hills that were correctly shaped. A typical theater was enormous, able to seat around 15,000 viewers. Greek theaters were not enclosed; the audience could see each other and the surrounding countryside as well as the actors and chorus. The Romans copied the Greek style of building, but tended not to be so concerned about the location, being prepared to build walls and terraces instead of looking for

3886-435: The specific theatres. Arausio , the theatre in modern-day Orange, France , is a good example of a classic Roman theatre, with an indented scaenae frons , reminiscent of Western Roman theatre designs, however missing the more ornamental structure. The Arausio is still standing today and, with its amazing structural acoustics and having had its seating reconstructed, can be seen to be a marvel of Roman architecture. During

3953-529: The stage, is a permanent feature of the structure. This area is known as the auditorium or the house. The seating areas can include some or all of the following: Greek theater buildings were called a theatron ('seeing place'). The theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes of hills. The most famous open-air greek theater was the Globe Theater where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed. They consisted of three principal elements:

4020-459: The sudden, dramatic revelation or transformation. A number of stage tricks, including actors' rapid appearance and disappearance, employ these innovations. The term keren (外連), often translated playing to the gallery , is sometimes used as a catch-all for these tricks. Hanamichi and several innovations including revolving stage, seri and chunori have all contributed to kabuki play. Hanamichi creates depth and both seri and chunori provide

4087-442: The whole is topped by a roof, even when the Noh stage is erected indoors. A ceramic jar system under the stage amplifies the sounds of dancing during the performance. There is a small door to permit entry of the musicians and vocalists. The independent roof is one of the most recognizable characteristic of the Noh stage. Supported by four columns, the roof symbolizes the sanctity of the stage, with its architectural design derived from

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4154-560: The wide diversity in religious and political groups that had been allowed to flourish after the regicide of Charles I. The Puritan movement had evolved as a rejection of both real and perceived "Catholicisation" of the Church of England . When the Church of England was quickly disestablished by the Commonwealth government, the question of what church to establish became a hotly debated subject. In

4221-447: The worship pavilion ( haiden ) or sacred dance pavilion ( kaguraden ) of Shinto shrines. The roof also unifies the theater space and defines the stage as an architectural entity. The pillars supporting the roof are named shitebashira (principal character's pillar), metsukebashira (gazing pillar), wakibashira (secondary character's pillar), and fuebashira (flute pillar), clockwise from upstage right respectively. Each pillar

4288-407: Was of course not always the case as Romans tended to build their theatres regardless of the availability of hillsides. All theatres built within the city of Rome were completely man-made without the use of earthworks. The auditorium was not roofed; rather, awnings ( vela ) could be pulled overhead to provide shelter from rain or sunlight. Some Roman theatres, constructed of wood, were torn down after

4355-481: Was refurbished by William Beeston and used for a time by the Duke's Company , patronised by the Duke of York (later James II ), from November 1660 to June 1661, when they moved to the nearby Lisle's Tennis Court next to Lincoln's Inn Fields , which they found a better venue. George Jolly 's troupe also played there for a time. Samuel Pepys records visiting it several times in his diary for early 1661 (often calling it

4422-426: Was the last theatre to be built before the closing of the theatres in 1642 , during the Puritan era. After the theatres were closed, Salisbury Court was sometimes used for other purposes – and sometimes, as through much of 1647, it was used for theatrical performances in contravention of the local authorities. (The players played when they could get away with doing so—which was not always: the London authorities raided

4489-463: Was to be held for life. It also created a one chamber Parliament with its members chosen from redrawn districts that ultimately favored the gentry and required the calling of triennial Parliaments, with each sitting for at least five months. This would also mark the permanent disenfranchisement of Roman Catholics and all the participants of the Irish Rebellion . In January 1655, Cromwell dissolved

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