Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/20/shakespeares-globe-theatre-i.html
…
2 Likes
“Elizabethan theaters were frequently shuttered in London during outbreaks of the bubonic plague, which claimed nearly a third of the city’s population. The official rule was that once the death rate exceeded thirty per week, performances would be canceled.”
"In the first decade of King James I’s reign, the plague meant that London theaters were likely closed more often than they were open, and Shakespeare’s troupe, The King’s Men, had to rely on royal gifts and provincial tours to replace their lost box office."
Plus ça change…
8 Likes
I think it’s fair to say a lot of theatres and music venues are feeling the financial strain of coronavirus, and performers too 
Music Venue Trust launched a campaign to help: Save Our Venues and I’m sure there are plenty of others.
3 Likes
Yeah, I mean pretty much all arts organizations of every kind are feeling a strain right now. Most of them a pretty serious strain, and for a good number of them, it’ll be fatal, if it hasn’t been already. (Which makes singling out just one into something like an Onion headline, “Local man feels strain of coronavirus pandemic.”)
2 Likes
The building is no more likely to fall down in the near future, it is the performers, stage crews, writers, front and back of house and all the ancillaries that I feel sorry for. No matter how they are staged the online versions of performances are slight in comparison to the real thing.
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
