Publisher's Synopsis
In The Rise of the Common Player, Professor Bradbrook relates the rise of the men's acting companies in London during the second half of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to the rise of poetic drama, and the emergence of an informed public. Four leading figures are studied in detail: Robert Laneham, Richard Tarlton, Robert Wilson and Edward Alleyn. The role of the boy players is the subject of separate consideration, and finally the private entertainments of the court are discussed, comparison being drawn between them and the Christmas revels at the university and the inns of court. This book was first published by Cambridge University Press in 1979. It is one of the most complete accounts of a development important both for literature and social history.
