James Burbage

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James Burbage (* between 1530 and 1535 in the London Borough of Bromley , † February 2, 1597 in London ) was an English actor, impresario and theater builder of the English Renaissance theater . He built The Theater , probably the first permanent theater in England since Roman times . He was the father of the famous actor Richard Burbage .

Life

James Burbage trained as a carpenter , which he had to have successfully completed in 1559, as he was listed twice as a carpenter in the church book of St. Stephen's on Coleman Street. He was also considered one of the best in his trade, which was to benefit him in his later work as a theater director.

Burbage began acting as the head of Leicester's Men in 1572. Burbage had various qualifications, including working as an actor, theater builder and theater owner; he occupied himself a lot with the theater and its groups, which is why it was said of him that he "bridged the gap between the late medieval drama in England and the flourishing of the great Elizabethan theater ". Burbage has been described by the patron saint of Leicester's Men, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester , as attractive, charming in demeanor, decent, tactful and shrewd. From a different vocation, however, he became more interested in economic success than in art, since it also affected his existence.

family

On April 23, 1559, James Burbage married the daughter of the tailor Thomas Brayne, Ellen. She was the sister of his future business partner John Brayne. The couple lived in the parish of St. Leonard in Shoreditch (Halliwell Street or Holywell Lane) from 1576 .

Cuthbert Burbage, the eldest son, followed in his father's footsteps as theater director, while the younger son Richard Burbage became one of the most famous actors of his era. He appeared with William Shakespeare at the Globe Theater ; both were shareholders of the house and friends too.

death

James Burbage was laid to rest on February 2, 1597 in Shoreditch. Only a few hundred meters from St. Leonard's Church, in a cemetery where other actors of the time are also buried. He left no will. However, he had already handed over his properties in Blackfriars to his son Richard and his personal property to his son Cuthbert during his lifetime; his wife only received the inventory, which was worth £ 37 . Burbage died shortly before the lease of the theater ran out , so his son Richard had a new theater built on the opposite bank of the Thames , which he called the Globe Theater.

James Burbage and his The Theater

Construction plan of The Theater

Burbage and his partner John Brayne decided in 1576 to build a new and permanent venue for London drama troops.

John Brayne was Burbage's brother-in-law and probably a rich man. He was the actual investor while Burbage took out a loan from him to facilitate the lease on the property. This financial endowment allowed them to build "The Theater" in the expectation that both would have an equal share of their profits. Financial bottlenecks forced Burbage and Brayne to use the theater during the construction phase. The income flowed directly into further construction. It was considered one of the first permanent theaters in London since Roman times.

Even if a business partnership existed, Burbage was solely responsible for the lease (14 pounds per year) and the operation, which began retrospectively on March 25, 1576 (signed April 13, 1576). Because Burbage owned the land as a tenant, he also received rental income from the buildings on the property. The contractor himself is not exactly named. It is believed that it was James' brother Robert who was a carpenter.

In 1594 the Privy Council formed the Lord Chamberlain's Men and gave The Theater exclusive rights to the performances.

The performances at The Theater

Burbage was very confident that many viewers would visit his theater even if they had to walk over dirt land to get there.

Over time, competition entered the theater market. So first the Curtain Theater , which was closer to the city. However, by working together and agreeing on the schedule, it also generated additional audiences for the theater. Over time, the performances became more and more complex, organized and spectacular. Other theaters were built, such as The Rose and The Swan .

The Blackfriars Theater

On February 4, 1596, Burbage bought parts of an abandoned Dominican monastery, or Blackfriars , as they were called in England, for £ 600 . It was located west of the city ​​walls of London , which today forms the district of London of the same name . His intention was to build the first completely rebuilt and roofed theater in the English-speaking world in the old walls (The Theater had no roof). After a few months of construction, the Blackfriars Theater was opened in November 1596 . However, he soon encountered resistance from the well-to-do residents, who were disturbed by the theater (theaters, actors and performed plays enjoyed a dubious reputation for them and they feared a downgrading of the residential area) and they legally forced the rededication to a safer children's theater.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wickham Gladstone, William Glynne Herbert Berry, William Ingram (eds.): English professional theater, 1530-1660 . Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-521-23012-4 , pp. 320 (English).
  2. ↑ Pogue, Kate. Shakespeare's Friends. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006. Print. P. 48
  3. ↑ Charlotte Stopes “C. Burbage and Shakespeare's stage ". New York, NY: Haskell House, 1970. Print.
  4. ^ Chambers, EK The Elizabethan Stage. 4 volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923. Volume 2, p. 306.
  5. ^ A b c d Richard Dutton, "The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theater," Oxford, New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print. P. 173
  6. ^ A b Charles William Wallace "The First London Theater: Materials for a History", New York / London: Benjamin Blom, 1969. Print.
  7. ↑ Mateer, David. "New Light On The Early History Of The Theater In Shoreditch", English Literary Renaissance 36.3 (2006): 335-75. Print. P. 335
  8. ↑ Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespeare Company, 1594-1642. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print
  9. ^ A b Sanford Sternlicht, "Chapter 5: The Theater" William Shakespeare: His Life and Times. Dennis Kay. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1995. Twayne's English Authors Series 513. The Twayne Authors Series. Web. 14 March 2012

literature

  • FE Halliday : A Shakespeare Companion 1564-1964 , Penguin, Baltimore 1964.
  • Arthur F. Kinney and David W. Swain: Tudor England: An Encyclopedia , Garland, New York 2001. Print.
  • JA Wagner: Historical dictionary of the Elizabethan world: Britain, Ireland, Europe, and America Oryx Press, Phoenix, Ariz. 1999. Print.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Burbage, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English theater manager
DATE OF BIRTH around 1532
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH February 2, 1597
Place of death London