The Human Stage
The Human Stage
$45.00
USDThis book describes the theatres of the time of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson in the light of the contemporary architectural thought and building design. John Orrell incorporates recent discoveries about the structure of theatres such as the Red Lion playhouse (1567), the Christ Church Theatre, Oxford (1605) and the Paved Court Theatre, Somerset House (1632) in a re-examination of old assumptions about their design and origins. Orrell shows that the first public theatres, exemplified by the Globe on the Bankside, were fully realised architectural ideas, not ad hoc improvisations. Indoor playhouses, such as the Blackfriars and the Cockpit, Drury Lane, show clear signs of having been influenced by the theatre scheme of Sebastiano Serlio, a scheme which is human in scale, methodical in development and Roman in plan. Serlio's scheme is identified as a common link between the great public theatres of Shakespeare's time, the major private theatres and the Court masques designed by Inigo Jones. The story of the early stages is thus more coherent and more interesting than has been supposed. The book is extensively illustrated with contemporary views of London, theatre plans and scene designs.
Product details
June 2009Paperback
9780521109451
316 pages
244 × 170 × 17 mm
0.51kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Prologue
- Part I. Festive Theatres:
- 1. Goodly theatres
- 2. The festive tradition
- 3. Goodly devices: emblematic design
- 4. The stage cover
- 5. John Norden's pictures of the theatres
- 6. This majestical roof
- 7. The Elizabethan Banqueting House, Whitehall
- Part II. Serlian Theatres:
- 8. The Christ Church theatre
- 9. Serlio's theatre plan
- 10. This goodly frame: the public theatres
- 11. The Court theatres
- 12. The private theatres
- Part III. Serlian Scenes:
- 13. Serlio's measurable scene designs
- 14. Inigo Jones's scene designs
- Appendix: Serlio's virtual field of vision
- Notes
- Index.
