by child actors.

Being outside of the City’s jurisdiction, Brayne and Burbage were able to hold performances of plays at the Theatre without censorship. Nevertheless, they were the subject of occasional criticism from those who believed it attracted London’s lowlife. William Fleetwood, the Recorder of London, wrote to the Queen’s minister Lord Burghley on the subject in 1584.

Burbage staged performances of plays by Christopher Marlowe amongst others. William Shakespeare joined the resident troupe in the 1580s and later became a part-owner of the company. From 1594 the Theatre was used exclusively by Shakespeare’s Chamberlain’s Men. His mid-career plays were first performed there, including Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice. The leadingman of the company was Burbage’s son Richard.

The success of the Theatre prompted Henry Lanman to build the Curtain playhouse nearby in Curtain Close just a few months later in 1577, which continued until 1622. It was most likely of similar design but little record of it remains. Possibly Shakespeare’s Henry V was first performed there during a year-long closure of the Theatre. In 1585 Burbage and Lanman made an agreement to co-operate and pool profits. From 1603 the Curtain was home to the Queen Anne’s Men (under the patronage of the wife of James I).

Between medieval times and the 18th century Bankside at Southwark, on the far side of London Bridge, was beyond the jurisdiction of the City authorities. It was a place associated with popular and