Shakespeare's Theater - Henry V (1961)

[Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Oh, [Music] heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Thank you. [Music] [Music] Sweet apples, sweet joy oranges and swim. The straight canal. [Music] more. Hallelujah. Our God [Music] Hallelujah. [Applause] Oh, for a muse of fire that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention, a kingdom for a stage, princes to act, and monarchs to behold the swelling scene. Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, assume the port of Mars, and in his heels, leashed in like hounds, would famine, sword, and far, crouch for employment? But pardon gentles all the flat unraised spirits that has dared and this unworthy scapold to bring forth so great an object. Can this cockpit hold the vasty fields of France? Or may we cram within this wooden o the very casks that a fright the air at a court on your imaginary forces work. Suppose within the girdle of these walls are now confined two mighty monarchies whose high up rearid and abuting fronts the perilous narrow ocean parts us. Peace out our imperfections with your thoughts. Think when we talk of horses that you see them printing their proud hoofs in the receiving earth. For it is your thoughts that now must deck our kings. Carry them here and there, jumping all times, turning the accomplishment of many years into an hourglass. For the witch supply, admit me chorus to this history, who prologue like your humble patience pray gently to hear, kindly to judge our play. May we cram within this wooden o the very casks that did a fright the air at a court on your imaginary forces work. In these lines Shakespeare set forth the limitations of the theater for which he wrote his plays in Elizabeth in London. In Shakespeare's time, London was a flourishing city that extended beyond its medieval walls westward toward Westminster and northward to the Finsbury Fields. In the Finsbury District at varying dates were located James Burbage's original theater and the Curtain Theater. Shakespeare performed as an actor in both of these public playhouses. The Tower of London stood at the flank of the city wall on the Tempame's River embankment slightly to the east of London Bridge. Plaggoers crossed the Tempame's River by boat or a foot by way of London Bridge to the amusement area in Suffukk. Here were located the Swan Theater, the Hope, the Rose, which served as a bear pit as well as a theater and Shakespeare's Globe Theater. In Suffk, the playhouses were free from the interference of the Puritan-minded Lord Mayor of London, who banned public theaters and bear pits within the city proper. In review, the Tower of London appears to the right of the screen at the edge of the north bank of the Tempame's River. Crossing the Tempames is the ancient London Bridge on which houses and shops were erected. The Globe Theater was patterned after James Burbage's theater and was in fact built with timber salvaged from the theater which had to be torn down when Burbage's lease on the land in Finsbury Fields expired. Under the thatched roof of the globe, there were three tiered galleries provided with benches where a gentry and wealthier commoners sat with their women folk upon payment of an additional fee. Playgoers obtained refreshments from the orange girl who circulated with her basket or from the vendor of cider. [Music] For a penny, commoners bought standing room in the pit, which was the open, uncovered area in the center of the playhouse. A few London Galants sat on stools placed at the edges of the stage. The appearance of the prompter on the apron stage with his manuscript signal the approach of curtain time. The projecting stage encouraged a lively interplay between the actors and the audience. Much of our knowledge of the Elizabeth and theater is derived from this sketch of the Swan Playhouse drawn by Johan Dit, a Dutch visitor to England in 1596. Dit sketch shows the stage of the Swan with a canopy supported by pillars. There is no evidence, however, to prove that all Elizabeth and theaters were constructed in this way or that the stage of the globe had such a covering. In Shakespeare's time, the stage was a raised projecting platform with a large trapdo in the center. There could have been smaller trap doors at each corner. Doors on either side led to the actor's dressing or tiring room backstage. Above the stage was a balcony and the al cove beneath it provided an inner stage which could be curtained off if necessary. These features may all be observed in this film presentation. Curtain time of the globe meant feverish activity backstage for the Lord Chamberlain's company of players. In Elizabeth in England, women did not appear on the stage. Boy apprentice actors played the women's parts. Many of the boy actors were excellent in the feminine roles, though this convention was a challenge to the dramatist. Shakespeare overcame the seeming handicap by the situations he devised for his female characters and the skill of his writing. Shakespeare's audiences enjoyed pageantry and this interest was satisfied by processions on the stage and by the actors colorful costumes. Dublets and gowns were made of silks and velvets in bright gay colors trimmed with jewels and costly gold and silver lace. Page boys announced the settings with [Music] placards. Note the trapoor center stage in the richly curtained al cove or inner stage. This was the theater of William Shakespeare. its location, its audience, its players, its conventions, and its construction. As you read Shakespeare's plays, like his audiences at the Globe Theater, let your imaginary forces work. [Music] [Applause] [Music]