. Shakespeare the player, and other papers illustrative of Shakespeare's individuality . t of the notoriousBear Garden on the Bankside, where the crowd of Londonpleasure-seekers flocked, more numerously on Sundays, to witnessthe bull and bear baiting sports, as they were termed. Duringthe reign of Henry viii. these sports were exceedingly in Elizabeths time they enjoyed the patronage of the* high and mighty of the land. Indeed, they formed the chiefamusement of the people for many years after, and Sunday wasgenerally signalised by some special entertainment. Parliamentclosed the B
. Shakespeare the player, and other papers illustrative of Shakespeare's individuality . t of the notoriousBear Garden on the Bankside, where the crowd of Londonpleasure-seekers flocked, more numerously on Sundays, to witnessthe bull and bear baiting sports, as they were termed. Duringthe reign of Henry viii. these sports were exceedingly in Elizabeths time they enjoyed the patronage of the* high and mighty of the land. Indeed, they formed the chiefamusement of the people for many years after, and Sunday wasgenerally signalised by some special entertainment. Parliamentclosed the Bear Garden in 1642 ; and, though it was opened againafter the Restoration, the previous interference of the authoritieswould appear to have practically given this method of sport itsquietus. In addition to the Globe and the Bear-baiting Circus onthe Bankside, there were at that time in London the Theatre or Curtain in Shoreditch, and the Red Bull in Clerkenwell asserts that it was at the last-named theatre that Shake- 1 Originally published in the Globe newspaper. 136. .§ g g a - S > ^ 6 S> U % E < u ^ H pq 1 H g ^i E e B APPENDIX B 137 speare first found occupation on arriving in London from Stratford-on-Avon. Theatre-goers had thus ample opportunities of beingamused ; at any rate, in the famous comedian, Richard Tarleton,they had the privilege of applauding a player whose comicgenius won him so great distinction that he enjoyed the especialfriendship of, among other personages, Queen Elizabeth was a young man of two or three-and-twenty whenTarleton was in the full flush of his career, and there seems noreason to doubt that he would occasionally witness the lattersperformance either at the Curtain or Red Bull. As to the building itself and its material construction, manyinteresting particulars are, of course, extant. In form it was not,as generally supposed, a circular-shaped theatre, although it wasprobably round within. Its name
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