The History Of European Theatre

Episode 149

The life story of Ben Jonson concludes with events after the publication of his first folio to his death in 1637.

‘Bartholomew Fair’, a different sort of Jonson play.

The finances of the court become more problematic, and Jonson earns and spends money.

The trend for ‘projectors’ and Jonson becomes involved with Sir Willian Cockayne.

‘The Devil is an Ass’ satires money making projects.

Jonson is honoured by Oxford and Cambridge universities.

Jonson devotes a decade to poetry and scholarship.

‘The tribe of Ben’ forms at the Apollo Room.

Jonson’s library burns in a house fire.

Jonson’s health begins to decline.

The death of King James and the marriage and coronation of Charles 1st.

‘The Staple of the News’, Jonson’s first play for a decade.

Jonson’s health declines further.

Jonson is appointed as Chronologer to the City of London.

Jonson complains of poverty and receives money from supporters.

The late Jonson plays fail to impress at the playhouse.

‘A Tale of a Tub’. 

A posthumous play, a play fragment and a collaboration.

Jonson dies in 1637 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Appreciation of Jonson since his death.

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'Will, Ben and Tom at Christmas' is an affectionate pastiche, with my very best wishes to you all for Christmas and the New Year.

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Episode 148:

The life of Ben Jonson continues after he is released from prison after the publication of 'Eastward Ho!'

Jonson’s possible involvement in the gunpowder plot and it’s aftermath.

Jonson writes a masque for the marriage of Frances Howard and Robert Devereaux.

Jonson defends his religious position in the face of recusancy fines.

‘Volpone’ is performed at The Globe as Jonson continues to produce masques.

‘Epicene or the Silent Woman’ is performed at the Whitefriars Theatre.

‘The Alchemist’ is performed at Oxford in a time of plague.

The club at the Mermaid tavern.

The return to the Anglican Church.

Parliament’s financial settlement for the King curtails the expense on masques

‘Catiline his Conspiracy’ gets a rocky reception.

Jonson works as a tutor for the Sydney family.

The ‘grand tour’ with Wat Raleigh.

The scandal of Robert Carr and Frances Devereaux.

Johnson is granted a pension.

The first folio of ‘The Works of Benjamin Jonson’.

One of the generally accepted facts about theatre in the time of Shakespeare and Jonson is that boy actors took female roles and women were banned from appearing on the stage.  This is in fact only partly true and my guest for today’s episode has made a study of how early modern actresses, from traditions on the European continent,  influenced the English stage.  During out conversation we covered aspects of European theatre from the early 1500’s, and Commedia Dell’arte in particular.  You will find my take on this in season three of the podcast and if you have already listened to that hopefully some of the names will still sound familiar.  We also talked about the influence of actresses on playwrights and plays from the period and hopefully you will remember Lilly, Marlowe and Kyd and The Spanish Tragedy from season four of the podcast.  All those episodes are still out there on your podcast feed if you need a refresher.   

Pamela Allen Brown is Professor Emerita of English, University of Connecticut. Her monograph The Diva’s Gift to the Shakespearean Stage: Agency, Theatricality, and the Innamorata was published by Oxford in 2021. With Julie Campbell and Eric Nicholson, she edited and translated Isabella Andreini's Lovers' Debates for the Stage, The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe (Iter, 2022). Previous books include Better a Shrew than a Sheep: Women, Drama and the Culture of Jest in Early Modern England; As You Like It: Texts and Contexts (co-authored with Jean E. Howard); and Women Players in England 1500-1650: Beyond the All-Male Stage (co-edited with Peter Parolin). She is a founding member of Theater Without Borders, a working group of scholars of early modern transnational drama, and she recently joined the New Books Network as a podcast host. Her poetry has appeared in Epiphany, First Literary Review East, New Square, Visual Verse, Public, Out of Sequence, and P/rose. For more on her work see:

https://www.pamelaallenbrown.com/

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Episode 146:

The banning of printed satire.

‘Every Man Out of His Humour’ is produced by The Lord Chamberlin’s Men.

‘Cynthia’s Revels’ is performed at court but is not well received.

‘Poetester’ is performed at the Blackfriars and sparks ‘the war of the poets’ with Dekker and Marston.

‘Sejanus: His Fall’ fails to impress.

Jonson cultivates friendships with nobility close to the Stuart dynasty.

The death of Elizabeth.

Entertainments for the arrival of Queen Anne in England.

Jonson’s contribution to the official entry of King James into London.

Jonson is ejected from court on Twelfth Night 1604.

The Court Masque.

‘The Masque of Blackness’.

‘Eastward Ho’ causes Jonson another spell in prison.

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