What is a Playhouse?

<p>This book offers an accessible introduction to England’s sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century playing industry and a fresh account of the architecture, multiple uses, communities, crowds, and proprietors of playhouses. </p><p>It builds on recent scholarship and new documentary and archaeological discoveries to answer the questions: what did playhouses do, what did they look like, and how did they function? The book will accordingly introduce readers to a rich and exciting spectrum of "play" and playhouses, not only in London but also around England. The detailed but wide-ranging case studies examined here go beyond staged drama to explore early modern sport, gambling, music, drinking, and animal baiting; they recover the crucial influence of female playhouse owners and managers; and they recognise rich provincial performance cultures as well as the burgeoning of London’s theatre industry. </p><p>This book will have wide appeal with readers across Shakespeare, early modern performance studies, theatre history, and social history.</p> <p><em>Note on Texts and Spelling</em></p><p><em>List of Illustrations</em></p><p><em>Acknowledgements</em></p><p>Introduction: The “Playhouse” Canon</p><p>Chapter 1: Archetypes</p><p>Chapter 2: Multipurpose Spaces</p><p>Chapter 3: Crowd Capacities</p><p>Chapter 4: Community Hubs</p><p>Chapter 5: Businesses</p><p>Coda: Archives and Afterlives</p><p>Index</p>