Early Cambridge theatres

About this book

The excavations of the Rose and the Globe theatres have created renewed scholarly controversy about the reconstruction of English Renaissance theatres. This book engages with this debate by attempting a reconstruction of early Cambridge theatres in the context of the professional theatres of Renaissance London. Cambridge provides a rich source of material: most of the college halls and chapels in which scaffold-theatres were constructed still stand, while records of the Cambridge theatres and the plays performed in them survive in hitherto unrecognized abundance. The Queens' College theatre (1546-9 to 1640) is reconstructed and illustrated in minute detail. The stage for Trinity College hall (built by Nevile c. 1605), which was the site of numerous royal visits involving plays, is also reconstructed, while the college's tiring chamber, comedy room, and acting chamber are the subject of close detective work. The book includes a full survey of some dozen Cambridge colleges, the university's commencement stage, and extramural theatrical sites used by travelling professional companies, which leads to useful comparisons with the theatres of London. The author concludes with a plea for greater attention to documentary evidence in reconstructing English Renaissance theatres. . This book will be of interest to historians of English Renaissance theatre, as well as to those working on the history of university drama, and the history of the university of Cambridge.