Shakespeare's Lost Playhouse

<p>The playhouse at Newington Butts has long remained on the fringes of histories of Shakespeare’s career and of the golden age of the theatre with which his name is associated. A mile outside London and relatively disused by the time Shakespeare began his career in the theatre this playhouse has been easy to forget. Yet for eleven days in June 1594 it was home to the two companies that would come to dominate the London theatres. Thanks to the ledgers of theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe we have a record of this short venture. <i>Shakespeare's Lost Playhouse</i> is an exploration of a brief moment in time when the focus of the theatrical world in England was on this small playhouse. To write this history Laurie Johnson draws on archival studies archaeology environmental studies geography social political and cultural studies as well as methods developed within literary and theatre history to expand the scope of our understanding of the theatres the rise of the playing business and the formations of the playing companies.</p>