Shakespeare's Secret Passageway

A secret passage beneath Shakespeare’s Curtain Theatre has been discovered.

19:15 13 November 2016

Archeologists, who have spent three months at the remains of the Curtain Theatre in East London, have revealed just how unusual the layout was. Among their many discoveries is a secret passage beneath the stage that is thought to have been a discreet way for actors to move without the audience seeing them. 

 

The theatre was opened in 1577 and its location remained unknown until 2012 when researchers from the Museum of London Archeology (MOLA) discovered the remains in Shoreditch. 

 

Heather Knight, who worked on the excavation, said: 'We found two thresholds of doorways – we thought they were doors to allow the audience access from the yard up to the gallery but now we can see that the doors would actually allow movement underneath the stage, to allow actors to pass from one side of the stage to the other without being seen.'

 

'This is the first playhouse we've looked at archaeologically where we haven't got that typical thrust stage – like at the modern Globe, where the stage has three sides to it.'

 

MOLA said: 'Discovering that the theatre was purpose-built tells us this was not a re-purposed space with a stage added, it was a place where people came to be immersed in entertainment.

 

'It had timber galleries with mid and upper areas for those who could afford to spend a little more, and a courtyard made from compacted gravel for those with less to spend.'