Building    From 1577  To 1642

Curtain Theatre

Categories: Theatre

This, the second English purpose-built playhouse was erected very close to the first, The Theatre, and run by the same man, Burbage.  Not named for the modern drape on a proscenium arch, but for its proximity to Curtain Close, a place named itself after the nearby London Wall. Long plain sections of wall are still known to those in the know as "curtain walls".

Here, in this "wooden O", Shakespeare performed and Henry V was staged. Ceased operating somewhere between 1622 and the Civil War, 1642. In 2008, the Museum of London unearthed the footings of the Theatre and a new theatre is set to be built on the site.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Curtain Theatre

Commemorated ati

Curtain Theatre - Curtain Road

On this site stood The Curtain Theatre (1577 - 1599) William Shakespeare firs...

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Curtain Theatre - Hewett Street

Near this site stood The Curtain Theatre, 1577 - c.1627, second English publi...

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Other Subjects

Jon Pertwee

Jon Pertwee

Actor.  Born 3 Sheffield Terrace, Kensington. Having served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during WW2 he became widely known during his 18 years (1959–77) playing Chief Petty...

Person, Cinema, Theatre, TV & Radio, USA

3 memorials
Sir Ben Kingsley

Sir Ben Kingsley

Actor. Born Krishna Pandit Bhanji in Snaiton, Yorkshire to an English mother and an Indian Kenyan father. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and also performed with the Royal National Theatre....

Person, Cinema, Seriously Famous, Theatre, TV & Radio

1 memorial
C. J. Phipps

C. J. Phipps

Architect of theatres. Those still standing in London include: the Vaudeville, the Lyric, the Garrick, Her Majesty's. Born Bath. Died at home at 26 Mecklenburgh Square.

Person, Architecture, Theatre

2 memorials
Forty Years On

Forty Years On

Alan Bennett's first west end play, set in St Albion's public school (the title is taken from the school song of Harrow public school). It is an allegory of Britain from the end of World War I.

Event, Theatre

1 memorial
Ian Albery

Ian Albery

Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells when the new theatre opened in October 1998.

Person, Politics & Administration, Theatre

1 memorial