The Influence of Patronage on Theater During the Shakespearean Era and how this Practice is Reflected in theatre today When Henry VIII was in power the first sign of patronage was seen, this was during his Reformation. He was married to Catherine of Aragon but through marriage difficulties he wanted to divorce her. Unfortunately this was made impossible by his Lord Chancellor, as he could not persuade the Pope to allow the divorce because of Religion. So the Chancellor was replaced and he divorced his wife and created the Church of England and banned all religious performances. He had all the Mystery, Liturgical plays banned and the scripts were destroyed and began to take control of what content there was in the plays. He also introduced the Master of Revels, which meant that a license was required by performers to perform.
This was also known as Censorship, which meant that things were banned from performances. Soon more people would begin to train in Law and doctoring, this affected patronage in all the arts. Lords wanted to utilize poet’s musicians and actors to work for them. This would have given them a higher public status.
This was another form of early patronage. Elizabeth I passed a law in the 1570’s stating that all actors and entertainers would have to get a noble patron to vouch for their ways and how they performed. After a while this system became more popular but was thought not to be a good one as troubles were encountered, it meant that playwrights were not able to write what they really wanted to portray. They were restricted to having a patron tell them what they could and couldn’t write. They were ordered to make good examples of the current kings and lords otherwise the play could not be performed. It was made prohibited to mention God or swear which meant that their writing was not as true.
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Prior to this law being passed, Acting was seen as the most disrespected job. But soon more companies began to open. These new writings influenced the social environment. As theatre was becoming ever more popular with the public the social issues in the performances became more apparent to the audience.
A little like a lot of today’s theatre. It was later realised that the patrons, not knowing that these messages were there, that it could be used to better effect. A lot of what Shakespeare was writing involved violence and murder death and destruction. Unfaithful marriages were portrayed so Shakespeare was ordered to stop writing these types of scripts as it gave Britain a bad name. A theatrical company opened known as ‘The Lord Chamberlains Men’ which Shakespeare joined in 1594 and gained patronage. There was a huge decline in acting in London and this meant that there were only a few companies left in London.
Because of the lack of companies these last few were granted patronage and ownership by the Royal Family and James I then renamed the company ‘The Kings Men’. Because the company was owned by the King the censorship of the performances was increased even more and they were ordered to perform in places wherever required. Patronage has been carried through with Theatre ever since the reformation of Henry VIII. It has influenced the way the theatre has been run for years and is still reflected in theatre today.
All theatres now have patrons and get funding from different organisations and in return they receive a percentage of the profit made by the company. A good example of this is Central Studio in Basingstoke that receives money from the government and arts councils to help fund the theatre. Its main patron is Brian Blessed. Patronage still exists as money is still given to the companies to run. Patronage is very important in theatre today as if there was none then companies would not be in action and there would be a serious lack of entertainment.
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Flood drummers was a production by the French Company Theatre du Soleil. The director Ariane Mnouchkine combines the most recent French and European theatrical approaches with the customs of Kabuki, Banraku Puppetry and Chinese Opera. It drew inspiration from the 1998 floods that ravaged China. This catastrophe served as a vehicle for a legend which, though doused in convention, presents a modern ...
Also ticket prices and other things such as food and refreshments would be sky high to help keep the theatre running. Also without the funding the high standard of actors required would not be affordable. With the funding and patrons actors can be paid for and theatre is at a towering standard.
