Blackfriars Theatre

Blackfriars Theatre stands on the site of a former Dominican priory beside the Thames in the City of London. The priory’s name comes from the black robes worn by its monks. After Henry VIII took the monastery, parts were sold or leased to nobles and officials. The first playhouse opened in 1576 when Richard Farrant rented space to stage plays for paying audiences. It was a small indoor hall, about fourteen metres long and seven wide, used by the Children of the Chapel Royal and others. The second theatre was built in 1596 by James Burbage in a larger hall once used for Parliament. The theatre became important because leading writers and actors worked there. John Lyly’s plays were first performed at Blackfriars before being shown at court. Later, the King’s Men used it as their winter playhouse from 1608 until all theatres closed in 1642. Writers such as Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton and John Fletcher created new plays for the indoor stage. The building itself had high ceilings, galleries and even boxes near the stage, holding up to a thousand spectators. Visitors today can still sense the history in the quiet precincts near Ludgate Hill. The area was once crowded with lawyers and merchants who objected to the noise of plays. The theatre’s indoor setting allowed candlelit performances in winter, a new idea at the time. Though the original buildings were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the name Blackfriars remains linked to London’s early theatre.