Lord Chamberlain
A senior official of the royal household, immediately superior to the Master of the Revels, in charge of all Court entertainments. See LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S MEN.
Lord Chamberlain Quick reference
An A-Z Guide to Shakespeare (2 ed.)
... Chamberlain A senior official of the royal household, immediately superior to the Master of the Revels , in charge of all Court entertainments. See Lord Chamberlain's Men...
Lord Chamberlain Reference library
Gabriel Egan
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (2 ed.)
... Chamberlain . One of the most powerful of court officials, the Lord Chamberlain was responsible for assigning lodgings in the palace, for the court’s travel arrangements, for the reception of overseas dignitaries, and for the court’s entertainments including plays. The Revels Office, and its Master, were but part of the Lord Chamberlain’s vast responsibility. Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon , was appointed Lord Chamberlain on 4 July 1585 and in May 1594 he formed a playing company, the Chamberlain ’s Men, which included Shakespeare. Henry Carey died on 22...
Lord Chamberlain Reference library
Anne Button
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (2 ed.)
... Chamberlain . In All Is True ( Henry VIII ) he is a ‘comptroller’ (controller, organizer) at Wolsey’s feast (1.4), and one of the Council which arraigns Cranmer (5.2). Anne...
Lord Chamberlain Reference library
The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre
... Chamberlain Pre-production censorship of plays in Britain was in the hands of the Lord Chamberlain, a functionary of the royal household, from 1737 to 1968 . Plays could be banned or refused a licence on a number of grounds – blasphemy, politics, profanity, sacrilege, sedition, indecency, or as likely to cause offence or a breach of the peace – and there was no appeal. club theatres emerged to evade such strictures. In the twentieth century, famous victims of the Lord Chamberlain included Shaw , Strindberg , Pirandello , O'Neill , Coward , ...
Lord Chamberlain, Reference library
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre (2 ed.)
...had to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain's office for scrutiny by the Examiner of Plays. At the time of the abolition of his powers the Lord Chamberlain had three English readers and one Welsh, who reported on the work submitted, with particular reference to indecency, impropriety, profanity, seditious matter, and the representation of living persons. Plays written before the passing of the 1843 Act could be suppressed under Section 14 of the Act. Play-producing societies and theatre clubs came within the Lord Chamberlain's powers, although it was...
Lord Chamberlain Reference library
Ronald W. Vince
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
... Chamberlain An official of the English royal household, the Lord Chamberlain included among his duties the planning of the revels and the keeping of order in the banquet hall. In practice, however, the supervision of court entertainments was delegated to the Master of the Revels , and it was this official who exercised the Lord Chamberlain's authority over the Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. A royal patent of 1581 gave the Master of the Revels powers to supervise, control, and censor the stage, and further edicts strengthened his position through the...
chamberlain, lord great Reference library
J. A. Cannon
The Oxford Companion to British History (2 ed.)
...and vicissitudes, until it passed in 1626 to their cousins the Berties, as Lords Willoughby de Eresby. The office of lord chamberlain is quite distinct. He has direct charge of the royal household and in 1737 was given the power of licensing plays. This was strengthened by an Act of 1843 and not abolished until 1968 . The vice-chamberlain is a deputy to the lord chamberlain. J. A....
Lord Chamberlain's Men Quick reference
An A-Z Guide to Shakespeare (2 ed.)
... Chamberlain's Men A theatre company formed in 1594 under the patronage of Henry Carey , 1st Lord Hunsdon, Lord Chamberlain from 1585 till his death in 1596 . Shakespeare may have been an original member; he was prominent within it by March 1595 , and remained with it as shareholder and playwright for the rest of his career. In its early years, the company performed mainly at the Theatre , then at the Curtain. It was known as Hunsdon's Men between July 1596 and March 1597 , when the second Lord Hunsdon was appointed Lord Chamberlain. By 1599 ...
Chamberlain's Men, Lord Reference library
Andrew Gurr
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
...'s Men, Lord Theatre company in early modern London , formed in 1594 as half of a ‘duopoly’ along with the Lord Admiral's Men , and created to replace the Queen 's Men as providers of royal entertainment at Christmas. Its membership was drawn from several groups whose patrons had recently died. Most of them came from Strange's Men and Pembroke's Men via Sussex's. The new company's leading player was Richard Burbage , son of the owner of the Theatre , their allocated playhouse . Shakespeare was a sharer and the company's contracted...
Chamberlain's Men, Lord Reference library
The Companion to Theatre and Performance
...'s Men, Lord Theatre company in London, formed in 1594 as half of a ‘duopoly’ along with the *Admiral's Men , and created to replace the *Queen 's Men as providers of royal entertainment at Christmas. Its membership was drawn from several groups whose patrons had recently died. The new company's leading player was Richard *Burbage , son of the owner of the *Theatre , their allocated *playhouse . Shakespeare was a sharer and the company's contracted playwright. They began their long career with a rich repertory of Shakespeare's plays, and at the...
Lord Chamberlain’s Office Reference library
The Oxford Companion to the Book
...if a new play was to be performed commercially, it had to be approved and licensed by the Lord Chamberlain. In practice, much of the vetting was left in the hands of subordinates. Within the Lord Chamberlain’s office the primary responsibility rested with an official known as the Examiner of Plays; early holders of the office were William Chetwynd (in post 1738–78 ) and John Larpent (in post 1778–1824 ). Only if he was dissatisfied would the Chamberlain become personally involved and make a final decision. The regime introduced by the 1737 statute...
Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
All Is True Reference library
Michael Dobson, Will Sharpe, and Anthony Davies
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (2 ed.)
...2.2 The Lord Chamberlain, Norfolk, and the Duke of Suffolk deplore Wolsey’s machinations against the Queen. The pensive King dismisses Norfolk and Suffolk but welcomes Campeius and Wolsey, and confers with Wolsey’s secretary Gardiner: meanwhile Wolsey assures Campeius of Gardiner’s complete obedience. The King sends Gardiner to Katherine: their case will be heard at Blackfriars. 2.3 In conversation with an old lady, Anne Boleyn pities Katherine the sorrows of queenship, and is ribaldly accused of hypocrisy, especially when the Lord Chamberlain arrives to...
Henry IV Part 2 Reference library
Michael Dobson
The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (2 ed.)
...appeared in quarto in the same year, as The Second Part of Henry the Fourth (‘Continuing to his death, and coronation of Henry the Fifth. With the humours of Sir John Falstaff, and swaggering Pistol. As it hath been sundry times publically acted by the right honourable the Lord Chamberlain his servants. Written by William Shakespeare.’). This text—set from Shakespeare’s own foul papers —was reissued, probably in the same year, with the addition of Act 3 Scene 1, omitted from the original printing. The play reappeared in the Folio in 1623 in a text derived...
