Early Theatre 1

Early Theatre 1 (1998)
Articles
The Kirk, the Burgh, and Fun by John J. McGavin
Romeo and the Apothecary by Dominick Grace
Henry Hardware’s Moment and the Face of Puritan Reform by Robert Tittler
Devising the Revels by W. R. Streitberger
The Waits in Lincolnshire by James Stokes
Theatrical Citings and Bitings by Loreen L. Giese
Note
Where Have All the Players Gone? A Chester Problem by David Mills
Issues in Review
The York Cycle in Performance by Barbara Palmer, David Bevington, Garrett Epp, Ralph
Blasting, Peter Meredith, and David Mills
Article Abstracts
The Kirk, the Burgh, and Fun by John J. McGavin
Abstract
‘The Kirk, the Burgh, and Fun’ is based on work done in the sixteenth and very early
seventeenth-century burgh and kirk records of Haddington in Scotland. It seeks to use these
records to qualify sabbatarian pronouncements, which were intended to occlude the individual
but were forced constantly to confront it. It argues for the messiness of cultural movements as
they are lived and uses the records as a means to avoid silencing the motives, rebellions,
resentments, self-deceptions, and aspirations of the individuals and institutions which were
seeking to promote or defend their interests during a time of change. Sabbatarian pressure
against a wide range of recreational activities is shown to be a means of negotiating institutional
power between a variety of groups; a device for resolving secular problems; a trick for deflecting
attention from erring ministers, and a tactic for preserving urban interests against the country.
This complex web of interests and principles produces individual ironies, and the paper contrasts
the activity of Haddington’s one-time schoolmaster and play director, James Carmichael, who, as
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the reformist minister of the town, was chosen to subdue the author of a local May play (here
named for the first time).
Biography
John J McGavin graduated MA/PhD from the University of Edinburgh and
now works in the English Department at the University of Southampton, where he co-founded
the Wessex Medieval Centre and convenes the MA in Medieval Culture. He is the designated
REED editor for the provincial drama records of Scotland, but also has publications in the area
of Chaucer, rhetoric, dramatic prosody, and a forthcoming book (Fairleigh Dickinson University
Press) on ‘Chaucer and Dissimilarity’.
Romeo and the Apothecary by Dominick Grace
Abstract
Romeo and Juliet 5.1, the apothecary scene, makes at best a minimal contribution to the forward
action of the play. If the apothecary’s function is to be a plot device to provide Romeo with
poison, why devote so much space to him? If we consider the scene as a whole, as a dramatic
unit enhancing the structure of the play and clarifying Romeo’s character development; if we
consider the thematic links between the action here and elsewhere; and if we consider the casting
of the apothecary, we can discover the importance of the scene. A key point is that the
apothecary is linked to Friar Lawrence. The two characters function as foils and as thematic
contrasts, serving to clarify our understanding of Romeo’s actions.
Biography
Dr. Dominick M. Grace is an Associate Professor of
English at Algoma University College in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. He earned his PhD at the
University of Western Ontario. His primary teaching areas are medieval and Renaissance
English literature, with a focus on theatrical texts. Other areas of interest include Canadian
literature, nineteenth-century literature, science fiction, fantasy, children’s literature, and film.
Henry Hardware’s Moment and the Face of Puritan Reform by Robert Tittler
Abstract
Henry Hardware has become familiar to many theatre historians as the mayor who destroyed the
traditional processional figures in the Midsummer Show in Chester, and thus as an exemplar of
anit-theatrical activity amongst the Puritan magistracy of the time. A closer look at both
Hardware and the condition of Chester itself suggests some of the complexities behind such
activity.
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Biography
Robert Tittler , Professor of History at Concordia University,
teaches and writes on the political, urban, and cultural history of early modern England. His
latest book is The Reformation and the Towns in England: Politics and Political Culture, 1540-
1640 (Oxford UP, 1998).
Devising the Revels by W. R. Streitberger
Abstract
The term “device” in the sixteenth century might still refer to a written document that explained
in detail the creative idea and overall conception of a project. Only one such device survives for
a court revel, “Devices to be shewed before the quenes Matie by waye of maskinge at
Notthingham castell” [1562]. This device together with evidence from the Revels accounts
illustrates how the suppression of individual egos by devisers, artists, and writers in the
collaborative production of revels could be considered an exercise in the art of service to a
prince.
Biography
W.R. Streitberger , Professor of English at the
University of Washington, is author of Court Revels, 1485-1559 and a number of other books
and articles on Renaissance literature, drama, history, and culture.
The Waits in Lincolnshire by James Stokes
Abstract
Most research into Lincolnshire dramatic records has focused on religious drama in the city of
Lincoln and selected other towns and villages, but considerable information also survives about
civic-sponsored entertainments of other kinds, including the sponsorship of waits by Lincoln and
six other substantial towns. Drawing on records in Lincolnshire and elsewhere, this article
describes what can be known about the Lincolnshire waits: the nature of civic sponsorship that
supported them; the identify of the waits; their numbers and responsibilities; their patterns of
travel and performance; their status in the towns; and something of their repertoire. The article
demonstrates that the waits were an important element in the fabric of sponsored entertainments
in Lincolnshire, that they had a more complex performance life than might be thought; and that
they and their performances seem to have thrived, unlike many other forms and entertainers,
right through the Puritan takeover of town governance and the Civil War. The article argues that
while recognized as having been skilled musicians, the waits have not been sufficiently
appreciated as professional, respected, companies; that they seem to have been an institution
associated with the growth and development of certain important towns; that they were found to
be valuable by both reform-minded and traditional officials alike; that they provide useful
insights concerning the nature and purpose of civic sponsorship and of the considerable
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networking that occurred among companies of waits. Their presence is an essential element in
the emerging picture of early drama and music in Lincolnshire.
Biography
James Stokes is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin -
Stevens Point. He edited the REED volume for Somerset (published 1996), is presently editing
Lincolnshire, and is the author of numerous articles on early drama and traditional
entertainments.
Theatrical Citings and Bitings by Loreen L. Giese
Abstract
The most-often-cited London Consistory Court record in relation to early modern London theatre
history is the record of the playgoing of Marion Frith, or Moll Cutpurse. The London Consistory
Court depositions from 1586-1611 contain still more rich information about players and
playgoers – information, as far as the author has been able to determine, that has not yet appeared
in print. These records in particular further confirm our understanding of contemporary attitudes
toward women’s playgoing, contribute to our knowledge of the Duke of York’s (Prince Charles’s)
company, and provide extremely illuminating information concerning John Newton, both as a
player and sharer in the Duke of York’s company and as the plaintiff in a matrimonial
enforcement suit full of suspicious circumstances, which suggest that the marriage contract was a
confidence game.
Biography
Loreen L. Giese is an Associate Professor of English at Ohio
University. She edited London Consistory Court Depositions, 1586-1611: List and Indexes for
the London Record Society (1997 for 1995) and is currently completing a book whose working
title is “Treacherous Attempts: Women, Shakespeare, and Marriage Law,” which is under
contract with St.Martin’s Press.
Note Abstract
Where have all the players gone? A Chester Problem by David Mills
Abstract
Evidence for travelling companies performing in Chester in the later 16th-early 17th.centuries is
sparse. Drawing upon both published REED material and documents recently discovered, David
Mills suggests that, while the political situation within the city fluctuated between support for
and opposition to such visits, there is nevertheless good reason to believe that Cestrians had
opportunities to watch professional performances.
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Biography
David Mills co-edited, with R.M. Lumiansky, the EETS edition of
Chester’s mystery cycle (EETS ss 3 (1974) and 9 (1986)) and produced a modern spelling edition
of the cycle (Michigan, 1992). He has published extensively on medieval drama and ceremonial
is currently co-editor, with Elizabeth Baldwin, of REED’s Cheshire volume. His book, Recycling
the Cycle: The City of Chester and Its Plays, will be published by UTP in the SEED series in
July 1998.
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