Tudor Entertainment
Suitable for: Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Key stage 4
Time period: Early modern 1485-1750
Curriculum topics: Recreation through time, Tudors
Suggested inquiry questions: What can we learn about entertainment in the Tudor period? What could you do to pass the time in the Tudor period?
Potential activities: Write a news report on the announcement of a new theatre being built in your area during the Tudor period. What would the reporter say?
Early Modern people had many options for entertainment in the towns and cities of England. Sports were popular with football, wrestling and bowls available alongside blood sports like animal baiting. Literacy levels were rising with the invention of print and improved schooling outside of the church, music also benefited from this rise with the mass printing of ballads and songs available for those who could sing and play the variety of Early Modern instruments. Travelling companies of players toured the country, while some found more permanent homes in inns before establishing purpose built playhouses for the first time. Use this lesson to explore extracts from original documents about the nature of early modern theatre and how people were entertained.
Tasks
Source One – Warrant
- Where is the play being shown?
- What does this suggest about the play and its audience?
- Why would the Privy Council censor the play? What are they worried about? [clue: think about the title of the play]
- Why would they seize the playbook?
Source Two – Petition
- What has worried the inhabitants of Blackfriars?
- List three complaints the inhabitants have.
- Why has Burbage built in Blackfriars and not inside the city? What does this suggest about London at the time?
Source Three – Request
- What has happened to the lead actor of Sebastian’s boys?
- What does this tell us about life as a young actor?
Source Four – License
- Where is Dronsiano from?
- Why might the license have been granted specifically for the period of Lent?
- What kind of acting troupe is Dronsiano’s?
- Research Commedia Dell’arte to find out more about their style of play.
Source Five – Order
- Before this order, when could plays not be performed and why?
- What has happened that has made this order necessary?
- What sport does Queen Elizabeth think has been damaged by the increase in plays?
- What does the order ban?
Source Six – Map
- What activities are held in the round buildings shown on the South Bank of the Thames?
- Why were these buildings built outside of the city?
- What does the map show us about London at the time? (Particularly the difference between the two sides of the river.)
Background
Finding something to pass the time in the Tudor and Stuart periods would not be too different from our hobbies today. Sport, music and theatre were all accessible to both the court and the general public with Sundays and Saints days allowing time for entertainment.
Henry VIII himself took part in many tournaments, showing his skill in jousting and sword fighting. He also enjoyed a few sports reasonably familiar to us today – he ordered the first recorded pair of football boots but banned the violent sport, which was more like a game of capture the flag where one team attempted to capture and keep the ball from the other, in 1540.
Did you know that Anne Boleyn was summoned to court for her arrest while she was watching a tennis match? This ‘Real’ or ‘Royal’ Tennis game looked a little different than our modern ‘lawn tennis’, more like the modern game of squash with players bouncing the tennis ball off a wall.
Dances were popular with different styles for various amounts of dancers. The Gavotte, Pavane and Volta allowed different degrees of contact between dancers while new types of dance such as Ballet were introduced from the continent for the first time to watch professionals perform.
The first purpose built theatres were built across London, giving a permanent home to theatre companies to perform their plays alongside their touring shows which travelled the country allowing those in towns and villages to enjoy a performance. With change comes controversy, however, and much of our records of these early theatres come from legal records as the crown and government sought to control the changing cultural landscape and individuals experienced the benefits and fall-backs of investing in these new businesses.
Teachers' notes
The sources in this lesson explore a variety of documents related to theatres and plays in the early modern period. Source 1 is a warrant for the arrest of the players in a drama called ‘A sack full of news’. It shows the fears held by Elizabeth I and her ministers about the possible danger of theatre. Students then explore a petition from the inhabitants of Blackfriars which expressed their concerns about the impact Burbage’s new theatre in their area. The third source reveals the precarious life as experienced by child actors. The fourth source is a license to perform during Lent given to Drosiano, an Italian comedian and his company which shows the international aspect of theatre and the role of touring companies. The final source offers students a glimpse into other pastimes such as bear baiting as a form of entertainment in the Elizabethan period.
All documents are provided with transcripts. Students can work through the questions individually or in pairs and report back to the class.
Many thanks to the Before Shakespeare Project for their help with this lesson.
Sources:
- Source One: Warrant for the arrest of players. Catalogue ref: PC2/7
- Source Two: Petition to stop a theatre. Catalogue ref: SP12/260
- Source Three: Request to find an abducted child actor. Catalogue ref: PC2/10
- Source Four: License to perform during Lent. Catalogue ref: PC2/12
- Source Five: Order to restrict performances. Catalogue ref: PC2/18
- Source Six: Ralph Agas map of London. Catalogue ref: MPEE1/25
External links
Before Shakespeare Project
AHRC funded research project exploring Early theatre through archives and performance.
The Globe
Find out more about Shakespeare’s purpose built theatre.
Museum of London Archaeology
Blog posts on recent excavations of Early Modern theatres.
BBC Shakespeare Archive
900 programmes from the BBC’s archive of Shakespeare’s plays, poems and sonnets.
Bear Gardens/Hope Playhouse
A collection of Bear Gardens/Hope Playhouse records; the second digital edition of London area Renaissance and Jacobean playhouses for the REED Online series.
Connections to curriculum
Key stage 3
The development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745: the Restoration, ‘Glorious Revolution’ and power of Parliament
Key stage 4
AQA GCSE History: Elizabethan England, c1568–1603
Edexcel GCSE History: Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88:
OCR GCSE History: The Elizabethans 1580-1603
Back to topSuitable for: Key stage 2, Key stage 3, Key stage 4
Time period: Early modern 1485-1750
Curriculum topics: Recreation through time, Tudors
Suggested inquiry questions: What can we learn about entertainment in the Tudor period? What could you do to pass the time in the Tudor period?
Potential activities: Write a news report on the announcement of a new theatre being built in your area during the Tudor period. What would the reporter say?
William Shakespeare
What can we find out about his life?
Henry VIII court rules
How did Henry VIII get up in the morning?
Elizabeth I’s monarchy
Rule of a ‘weak and feeble’ woman?