654 PLAYHOUSE. 
the diftinft character of its clafs; that the tragedy is 
without intermixture of comedy; the comedy without 
any intermixture of tragedy. 
From this time, dramatic writers, properly fo called, 
began to appear, and to meet with due encouragement. 
There elapfed only about twenty years betwixt the date 
of Gammer Gurton’s Needle and the rife of Shakefpeare. 
The fun of Shakefpeare arofe almoft without a fingle 
gleam of intervening twilight; and it was no- wonder 
that the audience, introduced to this enchanting and 
feduftive art at once, under fuch an effulgence of excel¬ 
lence, fhould have been more difpofed to wonder than to 
criticife; to admire or to adore, rather than to meafure 
the height or afcertain the courfe of the luminary which 
diffufed fuch glory around him. The true drama re¬ 
ceived birth and perfection from the creative genius of 
of Shakefpeare, Fletcher, and Jonfon, whole feveral cha¬ 
racters are fo well known, that it would be fuperfluous to 
fay more of them in this place. 
The firft company of players that we have any account 
of, is from a patent granted in 1574, to James Burbage, 
and others, fervants to the earl of Leicelter. In 1578 the 
children of Paul’s choir appear to have been performers 
of dramatic entertainments. About twelve years after¬ 
wards the parilh-clerks of London are faid to have afted 
the mylleries at Skinner’s Well. It is believed, the next 
company regularly eftablifhed was, the children of the 
royal chapel, in the beginning of queen Elizabeth’s 
reign ; and fome few years afterwards a company was 
formed under the denomination of The Children of the 
Revels. The children of the chapel and of the revels 
became very famous; and all Lyly’s plays, and many of 
Jonfon’s, and others, were firft afted by them: nay, fo 
great was their vogue and elfimation, that the common 
players, as may be gathered from a fcene in Hamlet, (aft 
ii. fc. 2.) grew jealous of them. However, they ferved as 
an excellent nurfery for the theatres; many, who afterwards 
became approved aCfors, being educated among them. 
Befides the children of the chapel, and of the revels, we 
are told that queen Elizabeth, at the requeff of Sir Francis 
Walfingham, eftablilhed in hand fome Hilaries twelve of 
the principal players cf that time,'who went under the 
name of Her Mnjefty’s Comedians and Servants. But, 
exclulive of thefe, many noblemen retained companies of 
players, who aCled not only privately in their lords’ 
houfes, but publicly under their licenfe and protection. 
Agreeable to this is the account which Stow gives us: 
“Players in former times (fays he) were retainers to 
noblemen, and none had the privilege to aft plays but 
fuch ; foin queen Elizabeth’s time, many of the nobility 
had fervants and retainers who were players, and went 
about getting their livelihood that way. The Lord 
Admiral had players, fo had Lord Strange, that played 
in the city cf London: and it was ufuai, on any gentle¬ 
man’s complaint of them for indecent reflections in their 
plays, to have them put down.” And in another part of 
his Survey of London, fpeaking of the ftage, he fays, 
“This, which was once a recreation, and uled therefore 
now and then occaiionally, afterwards by abufe became a 
trade and a calling, and fo remains to this day. In thole 
former days, ingenious tradefmen, and gentlemen’s fer¬ 
vants, would fometimes gather a company of themfelves, 
and learn interludes, to expofe vice, or to reprefent the 
noble aCtions of our anceftors. Thefe they played at 
feftivals, in private houfes, at weddings, or other enter¬ 
tainments; but in procefs of time it became an occupation ; 
and, thefe plays being commonly aCted on Sundays and 
feftivals, the churches were forfaken, and the playhoufes 
thronged. Great inns were ufed for tliis purpole, which 
had lecret chambers and places, as well as open Itages and 
galleries. Here maids and good citizens’ children were 
inveigled and allured to private and unmeet contracts; 
here were publicly uttered popular and feditious matters, 
unchafte, uncomely, and fhameful, fpeeches, and many 
other enormities. The confideration of thefe things 
occafioned, in 1574, fir James Hawes being mayor, an aft 
of Common Council, wherein it was ordained, That no 
play fhould be openly afted within the liberty of the city, 
wherein fhould be uttered any words, examples, or doings, 
of any unchaftity, fedition, or fuch-like unfit and un¬ 
comely matter, under the penalty of five pounds, and 
fourteen days’ imprifonment: that no play fhould be 
afted till firft perufed and allowed by the lord mayor and 
court of aldermen : with many other reftriftions. (Yet 
it was provided that this aft fhould not extend to plays 
fhowed in private houfes, the lodgings of a nobleman, 
citizen, or gentleman, for the celebration of any mar¬ 
riage, or other feftivity, and where no collection of money 
was made from the auditors.) But thefe orders were not 
fo well obferved as they fhould be; the lewd matters of 
plays increafed, and they were thought dangerous to 
religion, the ftate, honefty, and manners, and alio for 
infeftion in the time of licknefs : wherefore they were 
afterwards for fome time totally fuppreffed ; but upon 
application to the queen and council, they were again 
tolerated under the following reftriftions : That no plays 
be afted on Sundays at all, nor on any holidays till after 
evening prayer: that no playing be in the (lark, nor con¬ 
tinue any fuch time but as any of the auditors may return to 
their dwellings in London before finfet, or at leait before it 
be dark : that the queen’s players only be tolerated, and 
of them their number and certain names to be notified in 
the lord treafurer’s letters to the lord mayor, and to the 
juftices of Middlef'ex and Surrey; and thofe her players 
not to divide themfelves in feveral companies; and that, 
for breaking any of thefe orders, their toleration ceafe. 
But all thefe prefcriptions were not fufficient to keep them 
within due bounds ; but their plays, fo abufive oftentimes 
of virtue, or particular perfons, gave great offence, and 
occafioned many difturbances: when they were now and 
then flopped and prohibited.” It is hoped this long quo¬ 
tation from Stow will be excufed, as it fer. es not only to 
prove feveral fafts, but to (how thecuftoms of the ftage 
at that time, and the early depravity of it. But that the 
plays not only of that age, but long before, were fome¬ 
times perfonal fatires, appears from a manufcript letter 
from Sir John Hallies to the lord chancellor Burleigh, found 
among fome papers belonging to the houTe of commons, 
in which the knight accufes his lordftiip of having faid 
feveral difhonourable things of him and his family ; par¬ 
ticularly that his grandfather, who had then been dead 
feventy years, was a man fo remarkably covetous, that 
the common players, reprefen ted him before the court with 
great applaufe. 
Thus we fee the ftage no foor.er began to talk, than it 
grew fcurrilous; and its firft marks of fenfe were feen in 
ribaldry and lafcivioufnefs. This occafioned much of¬ 
fence, efpecially to the puritans; the zeal of the pulpit 
and the gravity of the city equally concurred to condemn 
it. Many pamphlets were written on both fides. Stephen 
Goffon, in the year 1579, publifhed a book, entitled 
“The School of Abufe; or, A pleafant Inveftive againll 
Poets, Pipers, Players, Jeffers, and fuch like Caterpillars 
of the Commonwealth;” dedicated to fir Philip Sidney, 
He alfo wrote “ Plays confuted in five Aftions;” proving 
that they are not to be fuffered in a Chr.ftian common¬ 
wealth ; dedicated to fir Fraqcis Walfingham. The de¬ 
fendants in this controverfy were Thomas Lodge, who 
wrote a play, called “ A Looking-glafs for London and 
England;” and that voluminous dramatic writer, Tho¬ 
mas Heywood. 
In 1603, the firft year of king James’s reign, a licenfe 
was granted, under the privy feal, to Shakefpeare, Flet¬ 
cher, Burbage, Heminge, Condel, and others, authori¬ 
zing them to aft plays, not only at their ufuai houfe, the 
Globe on the Bankfide, but in any other part of the 
kingdom, during his majelly’s pleafure. And now there 
lived together at this time many eminent players, con¬ 
cerning whom we cannot but lament that fuch imperfect 
accounts are tranlmitted to us. The little, however, 
which 
