The Curtain

The Curtain was the second London playhouse, built in 1577, next to the Theatre, north of the London Wall. It had the same structure as the Theatre, only slightly smaller, and at times the two were under the same management. Between 1597 and 1598, the Curtain was the home of the Chamberlain's Men, before they moved to the Globe in 1599. The Curtain was used by many popular acting companies after the Chamberlain's Men, including the Queen's Men (from 1603-1609), and the Prince Charles' Company (after 1621), but there is no record of the Curtain after 1627. There is really very little information on the Curtain available, but for more details about the owners and profits made by this playhouse, read William Ingram's essay entitled Henry Lanman's Curtain Playhouse as an 'Easer' to the Theatre, 1585-1592 which can be found in a collection of writings called The First Public Playhouse (see below).

References
Bentley, Gerald Eades. Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook. Yale University Press: New Haven, 1968.
Berry, Herbert, ed. The First Public Playhouse. Queen's University Press: Montreal, 1979.
Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. Facts on File: New York, 1990.
Lee, Sir Sidney. A Life of William Shakespeare. New York: Dover Publications, 1968.
Rutter, Carol Chillington. Documents of the Rose Playhouse. Manchester University Press: Manchester, 1984.

How to cite this article:

Mabillard, Amanda. The Curtain. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/theatres/thecurtain.html >.

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