Costumes and scripts in the Elizabethan theatres

Description

Costumes and scripts in the Elizabethan Theatres examines the ways in which costumes were acquired and used in conjunction with the repertory or the principal London acting companies mainly during the years 1594-1621. These years encompass most of the playwriting activities of Shakespeare, Jonson, Dekker, Heywood and other less prolific dramatists. The book includes background on the traditions of costume and costume change developed during the sixteenth century, on the costume practices of the court as recorded by the Office of Revels and on those documented in the records of Philip Henslowe. The scripts of the Admiral's Men (later Prince Henry's Men), the Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men) boy actors and Worcester's/Queen Anne's Men are examined in detail to document the differing costume practices of these companies, especially the ways in which in their earlier days they reconciled visual splendor with the greatest possible economy. Some minor traditions of the sixteenth century came to dominate costume practice in the seventeenth century, especially under the influence of the Jacobean court masque. Elizabethan costume practices contributed to the success of major companies; their abandonment in later Jacobean and Caroline times contributed to company failures during the 1620s and later. The adoption of these Elizabethan practices by modern repertory companies, especially Shakespeare festivals, might help to mitigate some of the costliness of theatre in our time.

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