London Period

London of the end of the 16th century was the centre of political, commercial and cultural life. London had many playhouses. William Shakespeare joined "The Lord Chamberlain's Men" company, first as an assist­ant of the director. He had to help the actors to appear on the stage in time. But Shakespeare was a very good actor himself. He improved the plays, paying much attention to the comic characters, clowns. He breathed

life into them and made them the central heroes of the > dramas. So step by step, William Shakespeare became not only a good actor, but an excellent dramatist as well. By 1592 his reputation as an actor and writer was established in the capital. He was a principal actor in I his own plays, but we don't know which parts he took. In Ben Jonson's plays Shakespeare is listed amongst "the principal comedians" and "the principal tragedi­ans". The actors of the company had to play at Queen Elizabeth's court.

In 1603 when James I came to the throne "The Lord Chamberlain's Men" was renamed "The King's Men". Before James I became king of England, he was already the King of Scotland (as James VI). His succession to the English throne was a serious blow to Edinburgh, to Scottish poetry and other arts, to the language itself. James VI, king and scholar, who wrote verses himself, gathered in his court in Edinburgh a group of poets and musicians known as the Castilian Band. When the king flittered to London, he took with him royal powers and patronage and they were increasingly subject to Eng­lish influences. English became the language of govern­ment, of social ambition and also of the Church as a consequence of the adoption of the English translation of the Bible which had been authorized by James him­self. "The King's Men" had no theatre of their own. Thus Shakespeare decided to build a profitable theatre where the actors could work. That was a great idea. By the end of the 16th century the playhouse was built. It was called "The Globe", because the building was round. The galleries and the stage had a roof over them to be protected from rains and hot sun. But the pit was open to the sky. This theatre was a summer one, and it was called "The Golden Theatre". William Shakespeare became the manager of the theatre. He was honest and 46

" The Globe"

11,irdworking. Both qualities attracted many actors to his playhouse. Shakespeare was open-hearted, sociable,iii(l he had gained a lot of friends among the actors and dramatists like Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe. The performances were not only interesting. They were striking. By the end of the century the London stage shook with Shakespeare's plays. His creations were great. By 1597 he had become wealthy and managed to purchase the largest house in Stratford, New Place. His visit to his native town was brief and he returned to London to write more plays. His tragedies were splendid, they reflected his personal life experience, his own feelings and thoughts. We can form an opinion about his intellect by his masterpieces.

But we know little about this period of Shake­speare's life. We only know that he lived in London for twenty-five years and was deeply involved in London theatre life.

In 1613, durirfg a performance of Shakespeare's' "King Henry VIII", a sparkjrom a cannon set light to the roof thatch of "The Globe" and destroyed the build­ing. It was rebuilt the following year. •

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