Red Bull Theater and Spectacle
“ For most playgoers the decision to attend one playhouse over another took into account the social environment in and around as much as the aesthetic qualities of the work onstage. Despite the paucity of early commentary on London’s theatres, those who did write about their experience often mentioned a specific playhouse. William Turner in 1612, draws a stark comparison between 'the fat fool of the Curtain / and the lean fool of the Bull' Actors were automatically associated with different venues.”
~ Mark Bayer, Community and Civic Engagement in Jacobean London
*Red Bull was known to excel at fire and effects staging elaborate battles on stage and were loved by there community for it. This description makes me think of modern day spectacle pieces like Cirque De Soleil which are less rooted on story and more about the effect. Ex. One butcher of our nation… seeing Hector overpowered by Myrmidons, got up on stage, and with his good baton took over the true Trojan’s part so stoutly, that he routed the Greeks, and railed upon them loudly for a company of cowardly slaves to assault one man with so much at odds. He struck moreover such a special acquantinance with Hector, that for a long time Hector could not obtain leave of him to be killed, that the play might go on.
Look to your left at the image of Cirque Algeria, which was taken in Oklahoma City, seems to bring the same love of fire and spectacle to the everyday viewer.
~ Mark Bayer, Community and Civic Engagement in Jacobean London
*Red Bull was known to excel at fire and effects staging elaborate battles on stage and were loved by there community for it. This description makes me think of modern day spectacle pieces like Cirque De Soleil which are less rooted on story and more about the effect. Ex. One butcher of our nation… seeing Hector overpowered by Myrmidons, got up on stage, and with his good baton took over the true Trojan’s part so stoutly, that he routed the Greeks, and railed upon them loudly for a company of cowardly slaves to assault one man with so much at odds. He struck moreover such a special acquantinance with Hector, that for a long time Hector could not obtain leave of him to be killed, that the play might go on.
Look to your left at the image of Cirque Algeria, which was taken in Oklahoma City, seems to bring the same love of fire and spectacle to the everyday viewer.
Hey, Where Did My Theater Go? Burn it.
When Red Bull tried to move to the Cockpit there was a huge riot and the move was postponed, forcing the Queen Anne’s men back to work at the Red Bull. However a year later they moved again into the new space renamed the Phoenix where yet another smaller riot occurred, some of the reasons behind this were the theatre’s new ticket prices which went from one penny to six shillings. The location of the Phoenix was a one mile walk, no easy task in London the the 1600’s, and the new audience this space set up was of a more wealthy ilk.
“ The Phoenix and it’s audience differed markedly from the Red Bull. It was an environment that would be positively estranging to most apprentices. The Cockpit was close to Lincoln’s Inn amid the fashionable houses of the wealthy, who would typically arrive at the theatre by coach and attired in flattery. Little wonder that a lone apprentice would feel intimidated arriving at the Cockpits grand entrance on foot, fresh from the shop and a few refreshing beverages at the local alehouse. Even with a familiar play imported from the erstwhile Red Bull repertory onstage at the Phoenix, the production and general theatrical ambience would hardly be recognizable to those accustomed to the troupe’s former venue. Because it was indoors, the Cockpit’s artificial lighting offered a radically different perspective on the stage action; the spectacular pyrotechnics that typified several popular Queen Anne’s Men plays would be too dangerous; and the diminutive size of the hall did not provide the scope for the stage effects and broad acting style of the, “ terrible-tear throats” at the Red Bull.”
Here is a description of a theatre that was similar to the Phoenix which infuriated the people, "unlike the public theaters, were entirely enclosed, were also very small. Estimates run to a seating capacity of perhaps 400 (Red Bull and the original Globe sat between 2500 and 3000), though some of them were later rebuilt to hold an audience of somewhat more than 600 persons. Admission prices started at six pence (Harbage, 1952, pp. 43-44) and went up to a shilling or even one and six. Most seats sold at a shilling and occupants of sixpenny seats were sneered at as "groundlings".x Since in terms of today's daily wages this is a price scale whose cheapest tickets sold at some $20.00, it is clear that the private theater was not the theater of the common man.
“ The Phoenix and it’s audience differed markedly from the Red Bull. It was an environment that would be positively estranging to most apprentices. The Cockpit was close to Lincoln’s Inn amid the fashionable houses of the wealthy, who would typically arrive at the theatre by coach and attired in flattery. Little wonder that a lone apprentice would feel intimidated arriving at the Cockpits grand entrance on foot, fresh from the shop and a few refreshing beverages at the local alehouse. Even with a familiar play imported from the erstwhile Red Bull repertory onstage at the Phoenix, the production and general theatrical ambience would hardly be recognizable to those accustomed to the troupe’s former venue. Because it was indoors, the Cockpit’s artificial lighting offered a radically different perspective on the stage action; the spectacular pyrotechnics that typified several popular Queen Anne’s Men plays would be too dangerous; and the diminutive size of the hall did not provide the scope for the stage effects and broad acting style of the, “ terrible-tear throats” at the Red Bull.”
Here is a description of a theatre that was similar to the Phoenix which infuriated the people, "unlike the public theaters, were entirely enclosed, were also very small. Estimates run to a seating capacity of perhaps 400 (Red Bull and the original Globe sat between 2500 and 3000), though some of them were later rebuilt to hold an audience of somewhat more than 600 persons. Admission prices started at six pence (Harbage, 1952, pp. 43-44) and went up to a shilling or even one and six. Most seats sold at a shilling and occupants of sixpenny seats were sneered at as "groundlings".x Since in terms of today's daily wages this is a price scale whose cheapest tickets sold at some $20.00, it is clear that the private theater was not the theater of the common man.
The Segment below is called: The World of the Theater From the Film Titled: William Shakespeare: A Concise Biography
Segment Description: The Earl of Southampton was Shakespeare's patron. King James was a fan of Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare gained social status, and the quality of his work had changed the style of entertainment at the theater.
You can also view the film segment by visiting: Film Link
Segment Description: The Earl of Southampton was Shakespeare's patron. King James was a fan of Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare gained social status, and the quality of his work had changed the style of entertainment at the theater.
You can also view the film segment by visiting: Film Link