{"id":202,"date":"2012-06-07T14:34:37","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T14:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archaeology.sa\/?p=202"},"modified":"2012-06-07T14:34:37","modified_gmt":"2012-06-07T14:34:37","slug":"curtain-up-on-shakespeares-lost-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/?p=202","title":{"rendered":"Curtain up on Shakespeare\u2019s lost theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"archaeology\" src=\"http:\/\/www.archaeologic.net\/\/uploads\/img_i1355_CurtainMuseumLondonArchaeology.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"428\" height=\"284\" \/>Museum of London archaeologists have uncovered the playhouse which staged the first performance of <em>Romeo and Juliet <\/em>before Shakespeare\u2019s company moved to the Globe.<\/p>\n<p>The remains of the Curtain Theatre, which opened in Hackney in 1577 and is expected to be among the best preserved examples of an Elizabethan theatre ever found in the UK , were discovered beneath a Victorian warehouse during exploratory excavations ahead of redevelopment work. So far two sections of exterior wall, which would have supported the theatre\u2019s galleries, as well as an outer yard paved with sheep knucklebones have been uncovered.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u2018This is a fantastic site which gives us unique insight into early Shakespearian theatres,\u2019 said MOLA archaeologist Chris Thomas who is leading the investigations.<\/p>\n<p>Named after the road on which it stands and built just a few hundred yards from Shakespeare\u2019s first theatre (imaginatively called \u2018The Theatre\u2019 and discovered by MOLA in 2008), the Curtain was home to Shakespeare\u2019s players, the Lord Chamberlain\u2019s Men, and until the Globe was completed in Southwark in 1599 (see <em>CA <\/em>124), the newly-discovered theatre was the main venue for his plays.<\/p>\n<p>But despite being immortalised in <em>Henry V<\/em>, in which it is referred to as \u2018this wooden O\u2019, the Curtain vanishes from the historical record in 1622 and its precise location was lost to memory.<\/p>\n<p>Now MOLA archaeologists have rediscovered London\u2019s second playhouse and hope to uncover more of its layout during excavations next year. A small section of the theatre is thought to lie beneath an adjacent building but it is expected that the majority of the structure can be exposed.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This is an outstanding site \u2013 and a fortuitous find in the year of the worldwide celebration of Shakespeare,\u2019 Kim Stabler, Archaeology Advisor at English Heritage, said. \u2018Developer-led archaeology has undoubtedly enriched our understanding of our towns and cities and a sensitive and creative public presentation of these remains would be a fantastic addition to telling the constantly unfolding story of London.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>June 6, 2012\u00a0 By Carly Hilts<\/p>\n<p>Current Archaeology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Museum of London archaeologists have uncovered the playhouse which staged the first performance of Romeo and Juliet before Shakespeare\u2019s company moved to the Globe. The remains of the Curtain Theatre, which opened in Hackney in 1577 and is expected to be among the best preserved examples of an Elizabethan theatre ever found in the UK [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203,"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions\/203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archaeology.sa\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}