Entourage and Elizabethan Public Theatres…

It’s almost become commonplace to say that if Sh were still alive he would be a scriptwriter in Hollywood. Or a DJ.

Despite the hours sucked up by our Will, YLS doesn’t sit around and watch Sh all day. He does watch HBO and is a massive fan of Ari Gold, the agent of agents.

For those that never heard of Entourage, it is centred around a group of guys in Hollywood: Vinnie, future moviestar; his brother Drama established TV actor; then there’s Eric, Vinnie’s best friend and manager; and finally Turtle, the go-fer of the group who when not working is bonging and obsessing about getting laid.

Their Agent is Ari Gold. Ari has no sacred cows or taboos in any shape or form. His purpose is to get his clients the job, by any means. Hollywood is filled with competing power agents pushing clients, and chasing scripts which are bought, or optioned, or passed around as useless.

The potential star actors read these scripts (or their manager does) and if they think it’s right for them they phone the agent to see if there is a studio involved and a director attached. And if any more future or established stars are on the project.

Now the differences between the Elizabethan Theatre world are enormous but the drive to be there in the first place isn’t. Sh and his contemporaries had to join or be accepted into a group of Players. Easier said than done.

Amateur players had existed since the Middle Ages in the form of Guilds, who were cast and performed in the Mystery and Morality plays, that lead to the formation of Public Theatres.

Professional players had existed since Henry 8th and his peers started their own private acting companies for their own entertainment. But then in Elizabeth’s reign one leader of an Earl’s company decided to open the first public theatre in England in Shoreditch, London.

Within a year a second had opened right next door to it. Add to this the Inn courtyards and other spaces that had served public theatre until that point and a fledgling Hollywood system begins.

Actors need scripts. Scripts need writers. Writers need to be paid, and so the Producer is born. A producer needs to make sure his script is first created and then sold to the right actors. And so the role of agent is born.

The super agent of Elizabethan times is the one who left us what is popularly known as his ‘diaries’. Phillip Henslowe started out as a dyer, moved into brothels and other louche forms of entertainments, and finally legitimised himself with Theatres. Notably the Rose theatre on the Bankside.

Phillip’s daughter married Edward Alleyne who was destined to be the first Elizabethan superstar actor. Edward finally made his fortune out of showbusiness and set up Dulwich College as part of his legitimising process.

Phillip’s diary is actually his account book covering about five years in the mid 1590’s. This account book is the inside source of practically everything we know about Elizabethan Theatre.

However it is not everything.