Revels (Inns of Court)

The entertainments at the revels often included plays, which came to be known as Inns of Court tragedies. The first such was Gorboduc (the first English-language play on an English subject) performed in January 1562 during Dudley's term as Prince at the Inner Temple; Jocasta and Gismund of Salerne were performed later that decade.[2][1] The performances were usually put on by professional companies, who regarded the revels as a good opportunity to perform before an audience of distinguished personages.[8][7] In some cases the members of the inns were involved with the production of the plays, often taking on acting parts. There was also some involvement in playwriting: Arthur Brooke was a member of the Inner Temple and wrote a masque (a short performance including music, acting and dancing), Beauty and Desire for the 1561–1562 revels and The Supposes was produced by Gray's Inn for 1566.[7] William Shakespeare may have seen the latter as he adapted it for a subplot in The Taming of the Shrew.[7] The Misfortunes of Arthur, by Thomas Hughes and performed at the 1588–1589 revels, is thought to be the only play to be both written and performed by members of an inn in the 16th century and by 1600 almost all plays at the inns were performed by professional companies.[1][7] The 1634 masque The Triumph of Peace was the most expensive ever put on, costing £21,000.[9]

It is thought that professional playwrights of this era wrote plays specifically with the revels' audience in mind and may have featured legal scenes in the hope of them being selected for a performance.[7] The inns played a key role in providing venues and funding for performances and were a great encouragement to early British actors and playwrights.[2][10] The close relationship between the companies and the inns is alluded to in Ben Jonson's Every Man out of His Humour, 1599: "the noblest nourceries [nurseries] of humanity, and liberty, in the kingdome: The Inns of Court".[1]

The revels' audience, being gentlemen, were trained in fencing and dancing and were thought to be especially critical of actors who lacked these skills; performances were often interrupted by interjections from the audience. The students of the inns were regarded as being particularly rowdy and are known to have got into fights with actors from Oxford's Men in 1580 and the Earl of Berkeley's men in 1581.[11] Despite this the plays and masques were regarded as the more respectable aspect of the revels. Elizabeth I attended a performance at Gray's Inn in 1565 and another in 1595 at which the Masque of Proteus was performed. On the latter occasion she returned the next night to present the Prince of Purpoole with diamonds and rubies.[2] The Lincoln's Inn and Middle Temple performed a revels masque at the royal court to celebrate the wedding of Elizabeth Stuart to Frederick V of the Palatinate.[2]

A 19th-century depiction of the Justices Shallow and Silence

Many of Shakespeare's plays allude to connections with the revels. Proteus, the hero of his The Two Gentlemen of Verona may have been taken from the inns' Masque of Proteus, the play's theme of friendship may have been inspired by the theme of the 1594 Gray's Inn revels (which centred on a Masque of Amity). The scene in The Taming of the Shrew (c. 1590–1592) showing the arrival of Lucentio at the university in Padua and a reminder from Tranio not to neglect his own pleasure whilst there may have been written by Shakespeare with an audience of law students in mind. In the same play the scene where the pedlar Christopher Sly temporarily gains the status of a lord may have been a reference to the temporary reigns of the inns' princes during the revels.[12] In Henry IV, Part 2 (c. 1596-99) Shakespeare has a justice of the peace, Robert Shallow, recall his time at the revels where, together with his friends, "you had not four such swinge bucklers in the Inns of Court again; and again I say to you we knew where the bon robas [prostitutes] were and had the best of them at commandment". Shallow claims to have been nicknamed "Mad Shallow" for his behaviour at the revels, but his colleague, Justice Silence, recalls that he was actually known as "Lusty Shallow".[2]

A performance of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors took place at the Gray's Inn revels on 28 December 1594 and is considered to be one of the best documented events of his life. The 1594–1595 Gray's Inn season was particularly elaborate as the previous three revels had been cancelled.[13] The play formed part of a sequence of events focused on the Twelve Days of Christmas, though the revels themselves lasted until Shrove Tuesday (7 February 1595) with a performance of the Masque of Proteus before the queen.[13]

The Elizabethan hall of Gray's Inn

The 1594–1595 revels were themed around friendship; as part of this the inns exchanged members for the entertainments in formal ambassadorial-style exchanges. As such the audience for the 28 December performance was particularly distinguished. It included Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, the lawyer and playwright Thomas Hughes, the writer John Lyly, the philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon (who had contributed speeches to the 27 December entertainment) and Francis Davison (who wrote a masque for the revels that year). This was the most prestigious audience that Shakespeare's work had been performed for up to this time.[11] It is thought that the Lord Chamberlain's Men performed the play on this occasion.[7]

However, the night of 28 December did not proceed to plan. The hall was overcrowded and fights broke out over the best seats. The ambassador from the Inner Temple left, perhaps in a staged fit of pique and events to be held in his honour that night were cancelled. The amended programme included dances preceding the performance of the play.[11] It was a difficult night for the acting company, their appearance was delayed for hours and the audience were disruptive.[14] The event concluded early the next morning and was subsequently referred to as the "night of errors". On the following night of the revels a mock trial was held of a "sorceror" accused of causing the failure of the event.[11]

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night was performed by the Queen's Men at the Middle Temple revels on 2 February 1602, at a time when one of his cousins was a student there.[1][2] Troilus and Cressida (c. 1602) also appears to have been written for a performance at the inns.[1]