CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRES

               Kindly note this point before to start: This is not about full history of Elizabethan Theatres. Here I am going to give only tips to arrange all Elizabethan theatres in perfect chronological order. Before start this kindly by heart this Statement –

THE CAPTAIN ROBERT SAVED GOOD FOOD.(too important).

           Elizabethan Theatres, also called as Renaissance Theatre, were given importance from 1562 till 1642.  But they were not fully developed until 1570s. So the plays were enacted by rolling/ wandering players. All these actors were patronized by some Lords, Patrons etc…The important theatre owner is James Burbage. His son Richard Burbage is a colleague of our Shakespeare.

           First let us give a look at the patrons. First patron is Lord Stranger (Name itself is a Stranger) and is followed by Lord Chamberlain and Kings Men. Those who acted under these patronages used to be called as their men. For example: Lord Stranger’s Men, Lord Chamberlain’s Men etc…

          Lord Stranger’s Men

                   ↓becomes

Lord Chamberlain’s Men(George Carey)

                ↓becomes

King’s Men (King James)

Here we have a concept of Chronological order of Elizabethan Theatres. Already you have come across the statement “THE CAPTAIN ROBERT SAVED GOOD FOOD”. Now look at the each word’s first letters, and then you will get “TCRSGF”

T – THE THEATRE (1576)

C – CURTAIN THEATRE (1577)

R – ROSE THEATRE (1587)

S – SWAN THEATRE (1595)

G – GLOBE THEATRE (1599)

F – FORTUNE THEATRE (1600)

Questions may be asked in NET exams to arrange the theatres in chronological order. So this method will help you to solve this.

Some important things about the theatres are:

• The Theatre’s plays were performed by Lord Chamberlain’s men.
• Shakespeare was associated with Lord Chamberlain’s men in the most of his career.
• He is closely associated with The Globe Theatre.
• The first play performed in The Globe Theatre is Julius Caesar (1599).
• Last written play of Shakespeare is The Tempest and last Performed play is Henry VIII.
• Henry VIII is collaborated with Fletcher this is why it is not considered as his last play.