The project's aim was to generate both a primary resource, the edition, and an accessible basis for reflection on how such data was selected and transmitted in subsequent traditions, that is, a web-based bibliography.
This project focused on two fundamental research problems:
- the need for a systematic and complete edition of all pre-1642 manuscript and printed records relating to the eight early Middlesex/Westminster theatres north of the Thames (1642 being the date of the closure of the London theatres by the authorities).
- the complementary need for a widely-available aggregated bibliography which locates, assesses, and digests all later printed transcriptions of pre-1642 documents relating to these theatres.
It aimed to generate both a primary resource, the edition, and an accessible basis for reflection on how such data was selected and transmitted in subsequent traditions, that is, a web-based bibliography. The theatres in question are the Red Lion (1567), the Theatre (1576), the Curtain (1577), the Fortune (1600), the Red Bull (1604), the Boar's Head (1602), the Phoenix or Cockpit (1616), and Salisbury Court (1629), all of which were situated outside the city of London's walls. The website of the completed project is now publicly available at Early Modern London Theatres (EMLoT). Beyond the period of this grant round, both edition and bibliography will move south of the Thames to cover historic Surrey's Bankside theatres (such as the Globe).
The project was led by Professor John J McGavin (English, Southampton).