Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 06.pdf/352

 Some Things about Theatres.

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SOME THINGS ABOUT THEATRES. II. By R. Vashon Rogers. ORIGINALLY theatres were established in England by letters patent from the Crown; but licenses were not needed when the servants of the royal family or the great nobles acted plays in the houses of their masters. In time unprivileged theatres gradually arose, so that an Act was passed in the reign of George II. (10 Geo. II. Cap. 28) which made it impossible to establish any theatre, except in Westminster and in place where the King should reside, except by special act of parliament. This con tinued to be the law until 1843, when free trade in theatres, subject to the conditions imposed by the act, was established. From the days of Elizabeth, an officer of the State has been the censor of the drama; all traces of censorship over other books and writings in England has long since disappeared. By the act of 1843, every new play, and every new act or scene in a play, must, before production, be submitted to and allowed by the Lord Chamberlain, under forfeit of £50, and the revoking of the license of the theatre. We are told that the discretion of this high functionary, as well as of his subordinate, the examiner of stage plays, has, on the whole, been wisely exercised (seeing he has to consider the dresses of the actresses, etc., etc., in the interest of public morals); occasionally, however, Jove nodded, as when during the illness of George III. the performance of King Lear was forbidden, and when George Colman showed marked antipathy to the use of such good words as "heaven," and " angels." In the Chapter House, Westminster, is the license granted by James I. to William Shakespeare and others: after the .usual formal commencement it goes on thusly :

"Know ye that we of our speciall grace, estemm, knowledge and meere motion have licensed and authorized and by these pres ents doe license and authorise these our servants, Lawrence Fletcher, William Shakes peare, Richard Burbage, et al., and the rest of their associates, freely, to use and exercise the arte and faculty of playing Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Interludes, Moralls, Pastoralls, Stage plaies and such other like as they have already studied or hereafter shall use or studie, as well for the recreation of our loving subjects as for our solace and pleasure, when we shall thinke good to see them during our pleasure; and the said Comedies, (etc. )to shew and exercise publiquely to their best commoditie, when the infection of the plague shall decrease, as well within theire now usuall howse called the Globe, within our County of Surrey, as within anie towne halls or moat hall, or other convenient places within the liberties and freedome of any other citie, etc., etc." Then the trusty counsellor, to whom the license is addressed, is told not to molest or hinder them, but aid them, if any wrong be offered them, and to allow them the usual courtesies. In Lord Campbell's time the Covent Garden Theatre Company acted under a patent, dated the fifteenth of January, 14th of Charles II., granted to Sir Wml Davenant, whereby he, his heirs, executors, adminis trators and assigns are authorized to erect a new theatre in any place within the cities of London and Westminster, or the suburbs thereof, and to gather together, entertain, govern, privilege, and keep a company of players to exercise and act tragedies, comedies, plays, operas, and other perform