This authoritative volume by Edmund Kerchever Chambers presents a meticulous historical study of the dramatic companies and play-houses of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. The author structures his investigation around the institutional households to which acting troupes were attached, tracing the complex and often turbulent evolution of English theatrical organization from the accession of Elizabeth until the close of the period in sixteen sixteen.
The book opens with a detailed examination of the boy companies, beginning with the Children of Paul’s and the Children of the Chapel Royal. Chambers documents how these choir-school troupes, initially dominated by humanist traditions and royal patronage, developed into sophisticated professional actors who commanded their own public theatres, such as the Blackfriars. He details the rigorous methods of impressment used to recruit talented boys, the internal financial disputes among managers, and the fierce satirical rivalries that characterized the war of the theatres between the children and the adult troupes.
The narrative then turns to the adult companies, tracing the transition from the decaying royal interlopers of the early Tudor period to the stable commercial troupes that formed under noble patronage. Chambers analyzes the load-bearing role of patronage, explaining how companies shifted from noble households to royal protection under James and his consort, while maintaining independent trading associations. Special attention is devoted to the rise of major organizations such as the Queen’s men, the Admiral’s men under Philip Henslowe, and the Chamberlain’s men under the Burbadges.
A significant portion of the work investigates the physical spaces of early modern drama. Chambers catalogues the public and private theatres of London, from converted inn-yards like the Red Lion and the Bull to purpose-built structures such as the Theatre, the Rose, the Globe, and the Blackfriars. He reconstructs their structural mechanics, financial arrangements, and the constant friction between theatrical managers and the municipal authorities of the city.
Throughout the text, the argument relies heavily on documentary evidence, municipal archives, Privy Council records, and court lawsuits. Chambers demonstrates how political shifts, plague outbreaks, and royal interventions constantly disrupted theatrical business, forcing companies into frequent reorganizations and provincial tours. The volume concludes by tracing the gradual consolidation of the London stage into a few dominant adult companies by sixteen sixteen, leaving behind an intricate chronicle of early English drama.
