Towards the end of the 14th century, it is known that "performances and exhibitions" were given on crude wooden structures wheeled about the streets; but no theatres, as such, existed before 1576 when the "Theatre", Shoreditch, London,was opened. This, according to authorities, was the first theatre in Europe for the performance of secular plays.

London saw the opening of several theatres at this period, and by 1600 there were nine or ten compared with only two in Paris. .Theseearly theatres were small wooden imitations of the magnificent amphitheatres of Roman times. Stages for plays were movable wooden, platforms wheeled into the arena between bear and bull-baiting and such popular amusement of the times.

A very good idea. of the conditions under which Shakespeare's plays were first presented in this period can be formed from the illustration above. This is a copy of a drawing of the SwanTheatre, Bankside (1598), discovered in a London letter, circa 1600, from a traveller in England, Johannes de Witt.

... for Steelworks in theatres of the future

Boulton & Paul Limited - STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS
NORWICH - BIRMINGHAM - LONDON

This advertisement is one of a series which briefly traces, from earliest times, the structural development of the theatre and places of entertainment, according to the "fashion" and requirements of the entertainment demanded.