The Swan was a theatre in Southwark, London, England, built in 1595 on top of a previously standing structure, during the first half of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's career. It was the fifth in the series of large public playhouses of London, after James Burbage's

The Theatre The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It was the first permanent theatre ever built in England. It was built in 1576 after th ...

(1576) and

Curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fa ...

(1577), the Newington Butts Theatre (between 1575 and 1577) and Philip Henslowe's

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

(1587–88). The Swan Theatre was located in the manor of Paris Gardens, on the west end of the

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...

district of Southwark, across the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

from the City of London. It was at the northeast corner of the Paris Garden estate nearest to London Bridge that

Francis Langley Francis Langley (1548–1602) was a theatre builder and theatrical producer in Elizabethan era London. After James Burbage and Philip Henslowe, Langley was the third significant entrepreneurial figure active at the height of the development of E ...

had purchased in May 1589, four hundred and twenty-six feet from the river's edge. Playgoers could arrive also by water landing at the Paris Garden Stairs or the Falcon Stairs, both short walking distances from the theatre.Trussler, Simon. ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre''. New York: Press Syndicate of the U. of Cambridge, 1994; pp. 164. The structure originally belonged to the Monastery of

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it became royal property and passed through several hands before being sold to Langley for £850.''Adams, Joseph Q. ''Shakespearean Playhouses: A History of English Theaters from the Beginnings to the Restoration''. Cornell University, 1917; pp. 160–180.'' The Mayor of London opposed Langley's permit to open a theatre, but his protests held no ground as the property had formerly belonged to the crown and the Mayor had no jurisdiction. Langley had the theatre built almost certainly in 1595–96. When it was new, the Swan was the most visually impressive of the existing London theatres. Johannes De Witt, a Dutchman who visited London around 1596, left a description of the Swan in a manuscript titled ''Observationes Londiniensis'', now lost. Translated from the Latin, his description identifies the Swan as the "finest and biggest of the London amphitheatres", with a capacity for 3000 spectators. It was built of flint concrete, and its wooden supporting columns were so cleverly painted that "they would deceive the most acute observer into thinking that they were marble", giving the Swan a "Roman" appearance. (De Witt also drew a sketch of the theatre. The original is lost, but a copy by Arendt van Buchell survives, and is the only sketch of an Elizabethan playhouse known to exist. If the

Lord Chamberlain's Men The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a company of actors, or a " playing company" (as it then would likely have been described), for which Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, including Hamlet, Oth ...

acted at the Swan in the summer of 1596—which is possible, though far from certain—( they toured in the provinces in July and August 1596 under the name of Lord Hunsdon's Players) they would be the actors shown in the Swan sketch.) When Henslowe built the new

Hope Theatre The Hope Theatre was one of the theatres built in and around London for the presentation of plays in English Renaissance theatre, comparable to the Globe, the Curtain, the Swan, and other famous theatres of the era. The Hope was built in 1613 ...

in 1613, he had his carpenter copy the Swan, rather than his own original theatre, the Rose, which must have appeared dated and out of style in comparison. In 1597, the Swan housed the acting company

Pembroke's Men The Earl of Pembroke's Men was an Elizabethan era playing company, or troupe of actors, in English Renaissance theatre. They functioned under the patronage of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Early and equivocal mentions of a Pembroke's compan ...

, with Actors Richard Jones, Thomas Downtown, and William Bird. (They later approached Henslowe to rejoin the Admiral's Men at The Rose). Edward AlleynMateer, David. ''"Edward Alleyn, Richard Perkins and the Rivalry between the Swan and the Rose Playhouses."'' Review of English Studies: The Leading Journal of English Literature and the English Language 60 (2009): MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 March 2010. They joined the Pembroke troupe after leaving their positions in Lord Admiral's Men at the rival playhouse The Rose.Thomson, Peter.''The Cambridge History of British Theatres.'' Ed. Jane Milling. Vol. 1. UK: Cambridge University, 2004; pp. 70–92. In 1597 Pembroke's Men staged the infamous play '' The Isle of Dogs'', by

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' ...

and

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

, the content of which gave offence, most likely for its "satirical" nature on the attack of some people high in authority. Jonson was imprisoned, along with

Gabriel Spenser Gabriel Spenser, also spelt Spencer, (c. 1578 – 22 September 1598) was an Elizabethan actor. He is best known for episodes of violence culminating in his death in a duel at the hands of the playwright Ben Jonson. Acting career Spenser appears ...

, an actor in the play, and Robert Shaa. Langley, already in trouble with the Privy Council over matters unrelated to theatre, may have exacerbated his danger by allowing his company to stage the play after a royal order that all playing stop and all theatres be demolished. This order of the Privy Council called for all London Theatres to be "plucked down", but may have arisen because of Langley and the 'seditious, lewd play'. The other companies were under inhibition to stop playing. The Lord Chamberlain's Men went on tour to six areas of the south east and south west, and the Admiral's Men did not perform again at The Rose until the inhibition was lifted at the end of October. Johnson was released from jail on October 3rd. Nashe however went on the run. All but the Swan Theatre were granted licenses to perform. The Swan continued to operate without a license until 19 February 1598, when the two licensed companies called attention to them. Following the scandal, the Swan only held sporadic performances. Another scandal rocked the Swan in 1602, when Richard Vennar advertised a new play, ''England's Joy'', to be performed at the Swan on 6 November. Vennar claimed the play was a fantastical story in honour of Queen Elizabeth, and seats sold out quickly. However, the play was never performed. The townspeople were enraged and vandalised the theatre, and the theatre never seemed to recover its former popularity. Because both court and city were interested in limiting the number of acting troupes in London, and because there was, consequently, a glut of large open-roof venues in the city, the Swan was only intermittently home to drama. Along with ''The Isle of Dogs'', the most famous play to premiere there was

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

's '' A Chaste Maid in Cheapside'', performed by the newly merged

Lady Elizabeth's Men The Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, afte ...

in 1613. The theatre offered other popular entertainments, such as

swashbuckling A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

competitions and

bear-baiting Bear-baiting is a blood sport in which a chained bear and one or more dogs are forced to fight one another. It may also involve pitting a bear against another animal. History Europe Great Britain Bear-baiting was very popular from the 12th ...

. For the next eight years, the building was used occasionally for special entertainment. After 1615 the Swan was deserted for five years, but used again in 1621 by some actors who are unknown. They did not stay for long. The building grew decrepit over the next two decades. In Nicholas Goodman's 1632 pamphlet '' Holland's Leaguer'', the theatre is described as "now fallen into decay, and, like a dying swan, hangs her head and sings her own dirge."George Pierce, ''The Development of Shakespeare as a Dramatist'', New York, Macmillan, 1907; p. 50 n. 2. Historical sources do not mention the Swan after that date.

References

External links

* *
Shakespearean Playhouses
', by Joseph Quincy Adams, Jr. from

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan (Theatre) 1595 establishments in England 1632 disestablishments 17th century in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Former theatres in London Theatres completed in 1595