The Stage in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an imp ...

is a new

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

from London property developer

Galliard Homes Galliard Homes is a British residential property developer based in Loughton. Operating across London and the Home Counties, Galliard Homes is the capital's largest privately owned residential property developer. History Galliard Homes was found ...

, Cain Hoy, McCourt Global,

Vanke Vanke () is a large residential real estate developer in China. It is engaged in developing, managing and selling properties across more than 60 mainland Chinese cities in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and Bohai-Rim Region, with th ...

and The Estate Office Shoreditch. The development is set to include a 37-storey residential tower, over 250,000 sq. ft. of office, retail and leisure space as well as incorporating a world heritage centre on the site of

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Curtain Theatre The Curtain Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse located in Hewett Street, Shoreditch (within the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. It opened in 1577, and continued staging plays until 1624. The Curtain was ...

. Centred on the theatre, the development will also feature over an acre of public space including a performance area and a park.

History of the Curtain Theatre

During the 1570s, Shoreditch was London's first theatre district and the birthplace of modern theatre. The Curtain opened in 1577. It disappeared from historical records in 1622 but could have remained in use until the outbreak of the Civil War, 20 years later, giving it the longest history of use of all of London's Shakespearian playhouses. Documents show that the Curtain was later used as tenements from the 1630s, by which time the playhouse had fallen out of use. Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, used the Curtain Theatre from 1597 to 1599, meaning that Shakespeare's earlier plays were most likely performed here. Indeed,

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

is believed to have debuted at the theatre while other plays, such as

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

and

Every Man In His Humour ''Every Man in His Humour'' is a 1598 play by the English playwright Ben Jonson. The play belongs to the subgenre of the " humours comedy," in which each major character is dominated by an over-riding humour or obsession. Performance and pu ...

, would have been performed there too

Excavation of the site

In 2016, archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) excavated the site of the Curtain Theatre. The dig revealed a number of notable artefacts and facts about the theatre, including: * In May 2016, MOLA announced that the theatre was a purpose built and, unusually, the theatre was rectangular rather than round or polygonal * A fragmentary ceramic bird whistle, dating from the late 16th century, which may have been used as a prop or for sound effects * In November 2016, fragments of ceramic money boxes were found, which would have been used to collect entry fees from theatregoers (from which derives the term ‘box office’) * Glass beads and pins were unearthed along with drinking vessels and clay pipes

Image gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stage, Shoreditch Shoreditch