Bartholomew Fair, first performed in 1614, at that event. Puppet shows at the fairs sometimes referenced popular plays by Shakespeare and others.

All playhouses around London were forced to close for a year in 1593 due to a plague that hit the City. When they reopened, the first performances of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and The Merchant of Venice were given at the Rose, and The Comedy of Errors at the hall of Gray’s Inn. A play performed at the Rose in 1597 was considered so seditious by the government that all playhouses were closed again for a year as punishment.

Plays in the Elizabethan era were performed exclusively by men and boys (impersonating women where necessary) and generally without scenery, the story being told through the dialogue and costumes. Goodand junior actors probably did not have the benefit of a rehearsal or even reading the entire script. If a particular play was not successful on its first night it was normally dropped from the repertoire, whereas the more successful were revived on a continual basis.

During the reign of James I, who succeeded Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the playhouses pressed to be allowed to operate in the City to prevent the inconvenience of theatre-goers having to cross the river. Thames watermen gained much of their income from the carrying of passengers and in 1613 petitioned against any relaxation of the regulations. Their plea was met by a more successful counter-petition from the players. Playhouses subsequently transferred across the river and away from Southwark.

Sources include: Liza Picard ‘Elizabeth’s London’;