inns
inns.Before the construction of the first permanent theatre spaces in London in the 1560s and 1570s, the large yards of the inns of the city of London were being used for dramatic performance. The yards, designed for the unloading of wagons, were enclosed on three or four sides and had galleries around their edges which provided access to the rooms available for nightly rental. With the addition of a portable stage an inn-yard made an effective theatre with space for spectators standing around the stage and under or within the galleries. The first recorded performances were at the Saracen's Head, Islington, and the Boar's Head, Aldgate, in 1557. The Red Lion used to be thought an inn-playhouse, but new evidence shows that, despite the unlikely sounding name, this was a farm converted to a playhouse in 1567.
Until 1594 playing companies moved between different city inns in winter, and the suburban playhouses in the summer. In 1594 the Privy Council...
[The entire page is 445 words long]