Played by the children of her
Maiesties Chappell.
LONDON
Printed by E. A. for William Blackwal,
and are to be sold at his shop ouer against
Guild-hall gate. 1594.
(Original Image)
Richard Farrant, on taking possession, turned the rooms into a theatre for the convenience of the boys in rehearsing their plays before performing before the Queen. The owner of the property was much displeased at Farrant’s procedure, vigorously complaining that the tenant had damaged the property by converting the rooms into a theatre.
No views or records of the interior of this theatre exist, therefore, in reconstructing the stage, or auditorium, from imagination, conjecture must take the place of facts. Whether galleries surrounded the stage, as we find in the public theatres, or whether the spectators were seated on a level in front of the stage, is a matter of dispute. Another point of controversy is whether the stage protruded into the auditorium or continued from east to west in a straight line, as seen in a modern stage. These questions at present cannot be determined with certainty. Until Professor Wallace discovered the documents relating to the Blackfriars property nothing was known about this early theatre. The Children of the Chapel Royal and the Children of Windsor regularly acted here, and for a few years were exceedingly successful, owing to their being under the immediate patronage of the Queen. Farrant, their Master, wrote plays for them, but none have survived. At Farrant’s death, in 1580, the theatre was managed by his widow, but she was unable for long to carry out the terms of the lease, and, after endless litigation, extending over four years, the theatre again came into the possession of the original owner, Sir William More.