Detail of Rose Theatre and Bear Baiting Arena, Panorama of London

Detail of Rose Theatre and Bear Baiting Arena, Panorama of London

England--Social life and customs--16th century

England--Social life and customs--17th century

Theater--England--History--16th century

Theater--England--History--17th century

Rose Theatre (London, England)

Image Description: This detailed view depicts two key Bankside (i.e., south of the Thames) entertainment options for Elizabethan audiences: the Rose Theatre (which is actually mislabeled on Visscher's original as the Globe) and Bear-baiting Arena. Across the Thames River, St. Paul's Cathedral looms large.

Scholarly significance: The structural similarities between the Bankside theaters and bear-baiting arena are significant. The first purpose-built playhouses in Elizabethan London were modeled on preexisting animal baiting arenas (bull and bear), and the two forms of entertainment were in fierce competition with one another. A 1591 law actually mandated the closing of public theaters on Thursdays, to protect the economic interests of animal baiting promoters. One of the later purpose-built theaters, the Hope, was a hybrid arena that hosted plays on some nights and animal baiting shows on others. Not surprisingly, given the competing interests, the venture proved unsuccessful.

Visscher, Claes Jansz., 1586 or 1587-1652

Wikimedia Commons

1616

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