Shakespearean Playhouses: A History of English Theatres from the Beginnings to the RestorationAdams, Joseph Quincy
History
Shakespearean Playhouses: A History of English Theatres from the Beginnings to the Restoration
Adams, Joseph Quincy
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stage history -- To 1625; Theaters -- England -- London -- History
If one may trust an elevation of the stage, drawn on the
same sheet to twice the scale of the general plan, the stage
was four feet six inches above the floor of the pit. This
elevation exhibits the surprising feature of a classic
facade, Palladian in treatment, on the stage of what so far
we have regarded as a late modification of a playhouse of
Shakespeare's day. Evidently Inigo Jones contemplated the
erection of a permanent architectural _proscenium_, as the
ancients called it, of the type, though far more modest,
both in scale and ornamentation, of Palladio's Theatro
Olimpico at Vicenza, which we know he visited in about 1600,
some twenty years after its erection. This _proscenium_,
given in plan and elevation, shows a semi-circular structure
with a radius of fifteen feet, two stories in height, of the
Corinthian or Composite order. In the lower story are five
doorways, the centre of which is a large archway flanked by
pedestals, on which are inscribed in Greek characters,
Melpomene--Thalia; over these and over the smaller doors are
tablets.
The second story contains between its lighter engaged
columns, over the four side doors, niches with corbels
below, destined to carry statues as their inscribed bases
indicate. So far as these inscriptions are legible,--the
clearest reading "phocles," probably Sophocles,--these were
to represent Greek dramatists, most likely AEschylus,
Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes.
The curved pediment of the central archway runs up into this
story and is broken in the middle by a tablet bearing the
inscription "Prodesse et Delectare," which is flanked by two
reclining genii holding garlands.
Above these are two busts on brackets, Thespis and Epicurus,
or possibly Epicharmus. The space directly above this
pediment is occupied by a window-like opening five by four
feet, the traditional Elizabethan music-room, in all
probability, which, Mr. W.J. Lawrence has shown us, occupied
this position both in Shakespeare's day and for some time
after the Restoration; an arrangement which was revived by
Mr. Steele Mackaye in the Madison Square Theatre, and
originally in the first little Lyceum, New York, both now
pulled down. The pyramidal pediment above this opening
projects above the upper cornice into a coved ceiling, which
would appear from the rendering of the drawing to form an
apse above the semi-circular stage. Behind the _proscenium_
is a large space with staircases of approach, two windows at
the rear, and apparently a fireplace for the comfort of the
waiting players. Communication with the front of the house
is provided by a door in the proscenium wall opening into
the stage door lobby, whence the outside of the building may
be reached.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account