Shakespeare's London

"Shakespeare's London":

INTRODUCTION:

• In the 16(th) century, London had more 200.000 residents, many of them living beyond the boundaries of the original walled city founded as Londinium by the Romans in 43 AD. The city was bordered by the Thames to the south and enclosed by a semicircular wall. The bridge was the only route across the river, apart from the numerous boats that shuttled between its banks. On the top of hill east of Lungate stood the old St. Paul's Cathedral.

TRADES:

• There were large markets in Cheapside and Eastcheap, were Londoners could buy local produce and imported goods brought up the river by foreign merchants. London's tradesmen were organised into guilds. Many of the trades were associated with particular areas. Present street names,like Bread Street, Milk Street and Ironmonger Lane, are reminders of past trades.

THEATRE:

• Shakespeare staged plays at the Globe Theatre, build in 1599 west of London Bridge in an area know as Bankside.The Globe was not the only playhouse in Southwark. Others built there before it were the Newington Butts Palyhouse (1580), The Rose( 1587) and the Swan (1595). Playgoing had in fact become part of the city's daily life, and all levels of society shared the experiences of the Theatre. Aristocrats were familiar with the plays of the day from acting part of school, seeing plays at court and,later, becoming patrons of the stage. Apprentices and merchants also enjoyed the theatre and often took an afternoon off work to go and see a play.
• When Shakespeare began working in London in 1588, the market was ready for new companies. Bou companies competed against the adult companies and were actually able to earn more money than their more experienced rivals. The three main boy companies were the Children of the Paul's, The Chapel Children and the Children of the King's Revels ( feste). Shakespeare was part of the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Performing to a potential audience of  3.000 people. Each day, the company presented a different plays, rehearsing it in the morning before performing it in the afternoon.

CONCLUSION:

• From a disease standpoint, Shakespeare lived in the worst place and time in history. As London was overcrowded, rat-infested and sexually promiscuous, with raw sewage flowing in the Thames, it was devastated by the plague in the second half of the 16 (th) century. The outbreaks in 1563 and 1603 were the most ferocious, each wiping out over one quarter of London's population. When there were more than thirty deaths a week. the theatres were closed. There were very few years when there were no closures, so London acting companies had to travel to other towns, where they were not always welcome, coming from a plague city.