Written by T. Middleton and T. Dekkar.
Printed at London for Thomas Archer, and are to be sold at his
shop in Popes head-pallace, neere the Royall
Exchange. 1611.
My case is alter’d, I must worke for my liuing.
(Original Image)
In searching for the exact site, the enquirer must walk straight down Aldersgate Street until he strikes the Barbican, then follow the Barbican until Beech Street is reached; at each end of this thoroughfare two streets branch off, both leading to Old Street; midway between these two streets, named respectively Golden Lane and Whitecross Street, stood the Fortune Theatre. A distant reminder of the past will be noticed by a street called Playhouse Yard, a turning off Golden Lane. Why this place should be termed a yard is rather puzzling, as outwardly it bears the monotonous look of an ordinary London street, which most readers will agree is far from picturesque.
Professor Lawrence, in his exhaustive list of the early London theatres, can find no view of this theatre; on the other hand, Professor Baker gives an illustration of this theatre, taken from Ryther’s Map of London, dated 1604. “In the district I have described is to be seen a building from the top of which a flag is flying; on the churches marked in the map a cross is seen.” This distinction is decidedly in favour of Professor Baker’s theory.