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77-665: It was built by architect Renato Rizzi in the light of Limon's research which suggests that the Fencing School was modelled on the Fortune Playhouse in London. Though not an attempt at an exact reproduction, the new theatre combines elements from the design of these earlier theatres with modern technology. It opened in September 2014. Gdańsk was one of the most important destinations for English travelling players in

154-401: A fly tower . To the east of the tower is a lower block containing backstage areas, dressing rooms, accommodation and offices. The main block's brick shell houses a wooden playhouse structure. Though taking account of the discoveries regarding the earlier theatre, and similarly having three storeys of galleries, the playhouse is not an exact reproduction. Full use is made of modern technology in

231-483: A theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components such as curtains, lights, scenery , stage effects and, sometimes, people. Systems are typically designed to fly components between clear view of the audience and out of view, into the large space, the fly loft, above the stage . Fly systems are often used in conjunction with other theatre systems, such as scenery wagons , stage lifts and stage turntables, to physically manipulate

308-401: A batten above the stage up to the grid, through loft blocks to a headblock and then down to the fly floor, where they are tied off in a group to a belaying pin on the pin rail. The lift lines and hand (operating) lines are one and the same. Typically, a lift line runs from the sand bag (counterweight) assigned to a specific line set, up to "a single loft block" above the fly floor and back down to

385-550: A combination of counterweight rigging and, at least some, hemp rigging. For example, theaters that incorporate built-in, grid-based counterweight fly systems often will also support additional, spot hemp system line sets for spot-rigging (to spot something, in theatre jargon, simply means to (re)position something). Manual rigging is also possible with hand (and drill-operable) hoists (winches), but relatively limited operating speeds preclude their use for most running applications. Automated systems are becoming more prominent. They have

462-445: A few line sets for the most frequently adjusted loads, such as electrics. Double purchase counterweight systems are sometimes used where the vertical travel of the counterweight arbor would be inadequate due to limited fly space or stage-level wing space. In systems of this type, the operating and lift lines are double-purchased so that the batten will travel twice the distance of the arbor. In other words, for every foot of arbor travel,

539-466: A few sets within a counterweight system, unless space issues preclude the use of a single-purchase system. The use of an arbor pit is an alternative approach to dealing with limited space for arbor travel. Electrical hoists (also referred to as winches) can facilitate coordination with cues , move extremely heavy line-sets, and significantly limit the required population of the fly crew. Despite those potential benefits, most hoists can fly line sets at only

616-405: A fraction of the speed that an experienced flyman can achieve manually. There are two general categories of motorized fly systems, motor-assist and dead-haul. Motor-assist systems very closely resemble standard counterweight fly systems described above, however a drum winch, typically mounted behind the locking rail below the arbor, is used to drive a steel cable purchase line. The purchase line

693-603: A manner similar to manual counterweight rigging. Otherwise it relies solely on the motor power of an electric hoist to fly a line set. Together, a series of parallel line sets regularly spaced up and down stage, commonly at 6 in (150 mm), 8 in (200 mm), or 9 in (230 mm) centers, comprise the bulk of most fly systems. Theatrical rigging systems are made up of hemp, counterweight and/or automated line sets able to serve various functions. Line sets are typically general purpose in function, meaning they can perform any number of functions which vary depending upon

770-437: A manner, motor sizes can be kept relatively small. The use of a particular type of fly system in a theater usually does not preclude the use of other rigging methods in the same theater. A hemp fly system, so named for the manila hemp rope that was once common in theatrical rigging, is the oldest type of fly system, certainly the simplest type of system. Recent research shows that the hemp system, although known for centuries,

847-564: A more controlled fashion. Counterweight rigging replaces the hemp rope and sandbags of rope line (hemp) rigging with wire rope (steel cable) and metal counterweights, respectively. Those substitutions permit the flying of greater loads with a high degree of control, but with a loss of flexibility inherent to most hemp systems. Flexibility is lost because most components of a hemp system may be repositioned, while counterweight system components are relatively fixed. Old " hemp houses" lacked counterweight rigging, but today most manual rigging houses use

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924-420: A notable run of bad fortune: plague closed the theatres for more than a year, from May 1636 to October 1637. Since they had no income from the theatre, the twelve shareholders in the theatre fell seriously arrears in their payments to Dulwich College, by more than £165. In 1639, the actors were fined £1000 for depicting a religious ceremony on stage – this depiction was taken as anti-Catholic, but in

1001-471: A plan of 22.4 m (73 ft) by 19.6 m (64 ft), slightly smaller and less square than the Fortune, which measured 24 m (79 ft) by 24 m (79 ft). A 1739 ground plan of the area discovered by Jerzy Michalak was published in 1998, which showed the Fencing School with a square plan. The excavations found remnants of timber posts dating from the 1630s, which according to Limon were

1078-413: A relatively experienced crew. Peter Foy is known for his innovations in manual flying rigs, especially those used in theatrical productions of Peter Pan. Automated flying rigs, which synchronize multiple point hoists, are becoming more common as motor control systems become safer and more sophisticated. A permanently installed fire curtain line set, though not used for productions, is a typical element of

1155-547: A theatre that may have been the Fortune. On the second, the notorious Gondomar certainly visited Alleyn and the others there in 1621; after the performance the players held a banquet in his honour. On 9 December 1621, the Fortune burned to the ground, taking with it the company's stock of plays and properties. To meet the £1000 cost of rebuilding, Alleyn formed a partnership of twelve sharers, each paying an initial amount of £83 6 s . 8 d . By then aged and busy with Dulwich College , he took only one share for himself, and leased

1232-436: A theatrical rigging system installation. Building and fire codes typically require that either a fire/ safety curtain or water deluge system be installed to separate an audience from the stage in the event of a fire. Fly systems are broadly categorized as manual or automated (motorized). Manual fly systems are more specifically categorized as "hemp" (a.k.a. rope line) or "counterweight" systems. " Hemp houses" (a reference to

1309-403: Is being lowered toward the stage, and "flying out" when it is being raised into the fly space. Battens may be just a few feet in length or may extend from one wing (side) of the stage to the other. A batten is suspended from above by at least two lift lines, but long battens may require six or more lift lines. In manual rigging, a line set's lift lines support weights opposite their connections to

1386-416: Is common terminology between the two industries. For example, the stage is referred to as a deck in the manner of a ship's deck. Other expressions and technology that overlap the nautical and theatrical rigging worlds include: batten, belay, block, bo'sun, cleat, clew, crew, hitch, lanyard, pinrail, purchase, trapeze, and trim. In a typical hemp system, a "line set" consists of multiple hemp lines running from

1463-408: Is described if the players were a party to her antics. In 1612, the theatre was mentioned by name in a city order suppressing the post-performance jigs, which authorities believed led to fist-fights and thefts. That this belief had some merit is suggested by a case the next year, in which a country farmer stabbed a city gentleman. In 1614, Thomas Tomkiss's academic play Albumazar linked the Fortune and

1540-555: Is fed to fixed electrics from terminal boxes at the grid deck via multicable. Single and double-purchase cable cradles mounted to lift lines can be used to drape the multicable, prolonging its lifespan and reducing the likelihood of conflict with adjacent line sets or lighting instruments. Pantographs are also used to drape the multicable feeding dedicated electric line sets. Dedicated electrics typically employ truss battens (pipe over pipe) to facilitate cable snaking and to maximize lighting positions. In large professional theatres, such as

1617-401: Is mounted to the top of the arbor, before rising back up and terminating below the head block. In addition, the opposite end of a double-purchase operating line terminates at the fly gallery, off-stage wall, or stage deck, instead of the underside of the arbor, after passing through a block mounted at the underside of the arbor. The additional blocks result in the arbor moving at half the rate of

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1694-746: Is still terminated at the top and bottom of the arbor, but a rope lock is not used on the motor-assist line set. Weight on the arbor helps balance the batten load so that hoist motor size can remain relatively small. It is often feasible to retrofit a standard counterweight line set to become a motor-assist set. Dead-haul systems fly the entire load placed on a line set without the assistance of counterweight. Therefore, dead-haul motor sizes are relatively large. Hoist (winch) motors are either fixed speed or variable speed. Fixed speed motors are used at heavy-load and/or slow-speed line sets (e.g., electrics and orchestra shell line sets). Variable speed motors are used at line sets requiring dynamic motion that may be viewed by

1771-454: Is the fundamental machine of a typical fly system. The function of a typical line set is to fly (raise and lower) a slender beam (typically a steel pipe) known as a batten (or a bar in the UK) by hoisting it with lift lines (typically synthetic rope or steel cable). By hanging scenery, lighting, or other equipment on a batten, they in turn may also be flown. A batten is said to be "flying in" when it

1848-548: The Curtain Theatre , between Whitecross Street and Golden Lane in what is today named Fortune Street, just outside the City of London . Between 1600 and 1642, it was among the chief venues for drama in London . The site is said to have originally been occupied by a nursery for the children of Henry VIII . The Fortune was erected as the second half of a substantial realignment of London's chief acting companies. In 1597,

1925-719: The Lord Chamberlain's Men had left, or rather been ejected, from The Theatre ; they abandoned Shoreditch and in 1599 constructed a new theatre, the Globe , in Southwark . The Admiral's Men , then playing in the nearby and aging Rose Theatre , suddenly faced stiff competition for Bankside audiences. At this point, the Admiral's manager Philip Henslowe and his stepson-in-law, the leading actor Edward Alleyn , made plans to move to Shoreditch; Alleyn appears to have funded

2002-476: The Philadelphia Academy of Music , an electric may take the form of a flying bridge (catwalk) that provides a walkable platform for electrician access to fixtures and effects. Flying bridges may also be used for followspot positions. It is not uncommon for the panels, known as clouds, of an orchestra shell to be flown. Larger, multi-use theaters that cannot have a static shell often make use of

2079-536: The Privy Council for the venture. Henslowe seems also to have soothed his neighbors' worries by pledging substantial amounts to charity in the parish. The theatre housed the Admiral's Men by late 1600, as revealed by correspondence of the Venetian ambassador in London. This troupe remained as tenants for more than two decades, surviving the deaths of both Henslowe and Alleyn, and remaining fairly stable under

2156-499: The manila hemp once most commonly used to make the ropes) exclusively use the centuries-old tradition of ropes, pulleys and sandbags to fly theatrical scenery in and out. Hemp rigging incorporates many nautical rigging techniques and equipment (e.g., block and tackle ), and was once thought to have stemmed from the nautical rigging. However, recent research has shown that this is not the case, Counterweight rigging evolved separately from hemp rigging and generally handles scenery in

2233-477: The mise en scène . Theatrical rigging is most prevalent in proscenium theatres with stage houses designed specifically to handle the significant dead and live loads associated with fly systems. Building , occupational safety , and fire codes limit the types and quantity of rigging permitted in a theatre based on stage configuration. Theatrical rigging standards are developed and maintained by organizations such as USITT and ESTA (now PLASA). The line set

2310-527: The Fortune Theatre was found in the papers of theatrical manager Philip Henslowe at Dulwich College . The contract gives some overall dimensions of the Fortune but there are no plans or elevations . 51°31′22″N 0°5′38″W  /  51.52278°N 0.09389°W  / 51.52278; -0.09389 Fly tower A fly system , or theatrical rigging system , is a system of ropes, pulleys , counterweights and related devices within

2387-544: The Foundation initiated an architectural competition for the new theatre, won in January 2005 by Italian architect Renato Rizzi. Construction became possible when European Union funds were offered in 2007. In September 2009 the groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk . Construction started on 5 March 2011. The theatre was completed at a cost of 95 million zlotys (£18 million), of which 75%

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2464-598: The Red Bull Theatre as raucous places to see old-fashioned fare such as The Spanish Tragedy . The aspersion stuck, as did the conjunction of north-side theatres. Yet the conventional view should not be exaggerated; on one and perhaps two occasions, ambassadors visited the theatre. On the first and less certain occasion, a member of the Venetian delegation, Orazio Busino , describes a visit in December 1617 to

2541-560: The arbor. When the system is properly balanced, an unassisted operator (flyman) can lift the batten and its arbitrarily heavy load from the stage ("fly it out", in theatrical jargon), completely above the proscenium and out of view of the house, sometimes to heights in excess of 70 feet (21 m). Some large theatres, such as the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) , have more than 100 independent, parallel counterweight line sets, while smaller venues may only have

2618-433: The arbors and limit their horizontal play during vertical travel (movement). The top of the arbor is permanently suspended by several wire rope lift lines, made of galvanized steel aircraft cable (GAC). The lift lines run from the top of the arbor up to the top of the fly tower , around the head block, across the stage to evenly spaced loft blocks, then down, terminating at the batten , a load-bearing pipe that spans much of

2695-605: The audience (e.g., drapery and scenery line sets). Scenery hoists commonly allow travel at rates of hundreds of feet per minute. Digital control systems incorporating computers or programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have become commonplace as well, bringing their advantages of high accuracy, safety and repeatability to fly systems. Battens are linear members to which live loads may be attached for flying. Battens were made of wood originally, but today they are typically steel pipe. Loads mounted to battens include lights, curtains and scenery so they may travel vertically, be raised up into

2772-405: The batten in order to balance the weight of the batten and whatever it carries. The lift lines are reeved through a series of pulleys, known as blocks, that are mounted above the stage to fly loft structure. An operating line (a.k.a. hand line or purchase line) allows riggers on the fly crew to raise and lower the batten. Automated rigging sometimes uses weights to help balance line set loads in

2849-404: The batten is set when the sand bag reaches the fly floor in its descent (adjustable) and the proper "In/Low" trim for the batten is established when the line set (previously tied off to the pin rail) is fully extended (adjustable). This makes it unnecessary to "spike" or "mark" either the line set or the lift line. The Hemp system relies on being slightly "batten heavy" to allow the load to travel to

2926-426: The batten to rise. The combined weight of the arbor and its counterweights initially matches that of the batten so that when the batten is not being raised or lowered, it will tend to remain motionless at any arbitrary elevation above the stage. As more weight is added to the batten (in the form of curtains, scenery , lighting equipment , and rigging hardware), the system is rebalanced by adding more counterweights to

3003-441: The batten travels two feet. This often results in the arbors remaining well above the stage deck, leaving the otherwise occupied wing space usable for cast and crew. In a conventional counterweight system the operating and lift lines terminate at the top of the arbor after passing over the head block. In a double-purchase system, however, after passing over the head block the operating and lift lines pass through another block, which

3080-430: The chair, and is flown out to the height of the electrics, to focus lighting instruments. Flying rigs are used to fly scenery or performers in a more elaborate fashion than typical line sets. A flying rig typically allows horizontal as well as vertical movement by paying out individual lift lines to varying lengths and/or through the use of tracks. Flying rigs usually involve specialized equipment and techniques operated by

3157-476: The features of the Globe, since Henslowe and Alleyn planned their theatre with an eye on their rival's venue; many of the details in the contract are for sizes equal to or bigger than the Globe's equivalent. The plot of land on which the theatre sat was approximately square, 127 feet (39 m) across and 129 feet (39 m) deep. The theatre was built on a foundation of lime and brick; square-shaped (uniquely among

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3234-557: The first half of the 17th century. Their first documented visit was in 1601. Typically they would perform at the courts of Königsberg and Warsaw during winter, and in Gdańsk or Elbląg in the summer. Performances in Gdańsk took place during St. Dominic's Fair , in August. Gdańsk's first public playhouse was built during this period. Known as the Fencing School ( Fechtschule ), it hosted a variety of other entertainments and activities besides

3311-400: The floor/deck. Because the ropes are flexible there is physically no way to move/push the sandbags "Out" if the weight on both sides is equal. Another hand line, known as a jack line, may be used to lift the sandbags if they are heavier than the batten load. (UNSAFE condition) The jack line, which runs up to a loft block and back down to the trim clamp, is tied off to a belaying pin adjacent to

3388-430: The fly floor. A trim clamp or a "Sunday" (a circle of wire rope) is used to attach this sandbag to the "line set" to balance the load placed on the batten. The sandbags are usually filled to weigh slightly less than the load, making the line set "Batten Heavy". When the flyman wishes to fly a batten (scenery or lights) "In" (i.e., to the floor/deck), the flyman unties the "High" trim and allows the batten to travel "In" while

3465-418: The fly space (flown out) or lowered near to the stage floor (flown in) by its associated line set. Battens typically stretch the width of the stage, parallel with the proscenium wall, and are maintained level (parallel to the stage deck) regardless of elevation. When a batten is flown all the way out (close to the grid) it is at high trim. When it is flown all the way in (usually to about 4 feet (1.2 m) above

3542-415: The fly system in this way. Before being flown the cloud is sometimes pivoted to a vertical orientation to minimize the space it requires for storage in the fly loft. A less common use for the fly system is the use of a focus chair system. This is a system where a small chair with fall protection equipment is suspended from a track that runs the length of a batten to which it is mounted. An electrician sits on

3619-410: The full extent of the arbor's travel (movement), respectively, thereby enabling an operator to pull the operating line up or down to move the arbor. When the arbor is raised via the operating line, the lift lines slacken, which causes the batten to lower under its own weight (and the weight of its load, if any). Conversely, when the arbor is lowered, the lift lines increase in tension, which in turn causes

3696-721: The grid or draped from a fly gallery, or permanently wired with connector strips (specialized electrical raceways ). There are normally at least three electrical line sets provided above the stage, with one just upstage of the proscenium wall, one mid-stage, and one just downstage of the cyclorama . Additional electrics are typically desirable. Permanently wired electrical line sets are known as dedicated electrics, fixed electrics or house electrics. In addition to providing dimmed and switched outlets for lighting fixtures, connector strips may provide low-voltage controls (e.g., via DMX512 and Ethernet taps ), for data being sent to lights and other devices, as well as microphone jacks. Power often

3773-435: The grid. The arbor's vertical position is controlled by means of a rope known as the operating line, hand line, or purchase line. The operating line forms a loop by running from the bottom of the arbor down to and around the tension block, through the rope lock, up and over the head block and back down (alongside the lift lines), where it terminates at the top of the arbor. The head and tension blocks are located above and below

3850-484: The late 1630s, almost any reference to religion was risky. This group returned to the Red Bull at Easter 1640, and the remnants of Palsgrave's company, now under the patronage of the young Prince Charles and therefore called Prince Charles's Men , returned to the Fortune. When Parliament ordered all theatres closed in 1642, the Fortune entered a slow but irreversible decline. The actors at least occasionally violated

3927-510: The lift and operating lines. In order to compensate for the reduced arbor travel, the loaded arbors must weigh twice as much as the batten load, resulting in arbors that are twice as tall. The additional mass on the arbor increases inertia, and the additional blocks increase friction, resulting in linesets that are more difficult to operate. In addition, double-purchase linesets are more expensive to install and maintain. For those reasons, double-purchase line sets are generally avoided, or limited to

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4004-441: The most common fly systems in performing arts facilities today. In a typical counterweight fly system, an arbor (carriage) is employed to balance the weight of the batten and attached loads to be flown above the stage. The arbor, which carries a variable number of metal counterweights, moves up and down vertical tracks alongside an offstage wall. In some lower-capacity fly systems, cable guide wires are used instead of tracks to guide

4081-412: The new theatre, later selling half-interest to his father-in-law. They paid £ 240 for a thirty-year lease on a plot of land between tenements on Golding and Whitecross Lane. They hired Peter Street , who had just finished building the Globe, to make them a playhouse. Street was paid £440 for the construction job; with another £80 spent for painting and incidental expenses, the cost of the physical building

4158-561: The one used for the line sets lift lines, either at the same, or a secondary, pin rail. Pulling on the hand lines of a hemp set flies a line set out. Pulling on the jack line flies a line set in. Hemp systems can be easily configured for spot rigging , where lift lines must be frequently relocated. They are much less expensive and easier to install than counterweight fly systems, though somewhat more difficult to operate. First introduced in Austria in 1888, counterweight rigging systems are

4235-512: The order, for they were raided and their property seized during a performance almost a year after the closure; between the expiration of the original order and the enactment of new, more stringent orders in 1649, the players returned to the theatre. In 1649, soldiers pulled down the stage and the gallery seats. By the Restoration , it had partially collapsed, and the masters of Dulwich sold what remained as scrap. The 1599 contract for building

4312-490: The period's amphitheatres), each wall measured eighty feet outside and fifty-five within. The building was three stories tall; the first-floor galleries were twelve feet high, those on the second floor eleven; those on the third, nine. Each row of galleries was twelve feet deep. Henslowe and Alleyn specified that the Fortune outdo the Globe "in every point for scantlings "; they also provided, in accordance with common practice, for two-penny rooms and gentlemen's rooms. The building

4389-400: The potential advantages of relatively high precision, speed and ease of control, but tend to be significantly more expensive than manual systems. Hoists of various types (e.g., line shaft, chain motor, etc.) are used. A conventional counterweight system may be automated by the incorporation of a motor and controls, in what is commonly called a motor-assist system. By using counterweight in such

4466-479: The property to the company's sharers for £128 per year. (The shareholders paid Alleyn £10 13 s . 10 d . each annually, and in return split the profits of the theatre, and the expenses of running it, twelve ways.) The theatre re-opened in March 1623. When Alleyn died in 1626, the college assumed control of the lease; the actor Richard Gunnell became its manager. Yet this change does not appear to have changed operations at

4543-583: The requirements of a particular theatre production. For example, a general purpose line set can usually be quickly transformed into a drapery or scenery line set, but converting a general purpose line set into an electrical line set is more involved. When a line set has a predetermined, relatively permanent, function it is known as a dedicated line set. Line set functions include: Line sets often suspend theater drapes and stage curtains such as travelers, teasers (a.k.a. borders), legs, cycs , scrims and tabs, as well as associated tracks, in order to mask and frame

4620-495: The result of a documented renovation of the theatre in 1635. Michalak has suggested that the excavated building was actually Gdańsk's second Fencing School, built in 1635, and that there was an earlier Fencing School, also a theatre, built in 1603 but on a different site. The Fencing School was replaced in the 1740s on the same site, or adjacent to it, by a new municipal theatre known as the Comedy House ( Comoedienhaus ). This

4697-496: The retractable roof, which can open or close in three minutes, and a system of 56 lifts, which enables a variety of theatrical configurations, including thrust stage , proscenium stage and theatre in the round . The two opening wings of the retractable roof each weigh 46 tonnes (51 tons). Seating capacity is up to 600. 54°20′52″N 18°38′52″E  /  54.34778°N 18.64778°E  / 54.34778; 18.64778 Fortune Playhouse The Fortune Playhouse

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4774-403: The same material runs around the building, creating courtyards of various sizes, except to the west where the building projects beyond it. There is public access to internal walkways within the wall and external ones along its top. The main entrance, at the western end of the northern side, leads into the lobby and the theatre space, with the stage at the eastern end of the auditorium, surmounted by

4851-420: The sandbags travel "Out" toward the grid. When the flyman wishes to fly the batten "Out", he pulls down on the operating lines (leaving them tied off at the pin rail at "Low" trim) and the batten flies out as the sand bag descends to the fly floor. This arrangement allows the flyman to control the speed of ascent and/or descent and provides greater safety for people on the stage below. The proper "Out/High" trim for

4928-866: The stage and provide backdrops. Line sets are sometimes dedicated to particular draperies, such as the main (grand) curtain and main border (valance) that mask the proscenium opening, but drapery locations can often vary. In many stage productions, theatrical scenery is mounted to line sets in order to be flown in and out so as to quickly change set pieces during the course of a performance. For example, painted soft and hard flats (e.g., muslin drops) and are commonly used to depict settings. Also, three-dimensional sets (e.g., box sets ) may be flown. Electrical line sets, commonly called electrics, are used to suspend and control lighting instruments and, in many cases, microphones and special effects equipment as well. Electrics may be temporarily "wired" with drop boxes (electrical boxes with outlets) or multicable fanouts dropped from

5005-493: The stage deck) it is at low trim. Loads are attached to the batten in various ways. Most lighting fixtures, for example, utilize a C-clamp to rigidly secure the light onto the batten, in conjunction with a safety cable that is looped around the batten to prevent the light from falling should the C-clamp connection fail. Non-traveling curtains (e.g., borders) often employ cloth ties, similar to shoestrings, that are hand tied onto

5082-439: The successive patronage of Prince Henry and Lord Palsgrave . Upon Henslowe's death, Alleyn assumed full control of the property. Originally described as the "fairest play-house in the town," the Fortune suffered a slow decline in reputation over the decades. In 1605, notorious roisterer Mary Frith may have appeared on the boards, singing and playing a lute; it is not clear from the consistory court records in which this event

5159-404: The theatre's program. On July 18, 2017, the theatre was visited by Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as part of their royal trip to Poland and Germany where they met the theatre's director Jerzy Limon and saw a short play. The building is of anthracite -black brick, massively buttressed and with few apertures, thereby expressing itself as a Black Box . A thick wall in

5236-409: The theatre. The new theatre appears to have been made of brick, with a lead and tile roof as fire-proofing measure. It also seems to have been round, abandoning its unconventional square shape. The reputation of the theatre did not improve after its reconstruction. In 1626, it was the scene of a riot involving sailors, in the course of which a constable was assaulted. In 1628, a protégé of Buckingham

5313-487: The theatrical. After comparing an engraving by Dutch artist Peter Willer published in 1687 to the dimensions given in the builder's contract of 1600 for the Fortune Playhouse in London, Jerzy Limon concluded that the Fencing School was built c. 1611 and modelled after the Fortune. He found support for this from archaeological excavations carried out by Marcin Gawlicki on the Gdańsk site in 1997–2000 and 2004. These suggested

5390-440: The width of the stage. If the loft blocks are mounted to the grid deck, at the loft block wells, the system is called a grid-mount, or upright counterweight rigging system. If the loft blocks are mounted to roof beams (loft block beams), the system is called an under-hung counterweight rigging system. Under-hung systems have the advantages of maintaining a clear grid deck surface for spot rigging and facilitating crew movement across

5467-620: Was an historic theatre in London . It was located between Whitecross Street and the modern Golden Lane , just outside the City of London . It was founded about 1600, and suppressed by the Puritan Parliament in 1642. The Fortune Theatre was contemporary with Shakespeare 's Globe , The Swan and others; it stood in the parish of St Giles-without-Cripplegate , to the west of the Shoreditch locations of The Theatre and

5544-529: Was assaulted by a mob after leaving a performance there. In 1631, Palsgrave's Men moved to the playhouse at Salisbury Court; they were replaced at the Fortune by the actors of the King's Revels. The only play definitely associated with this period is a comedy, now lost, by William Heminges, son of John Heminges . In 1635, a company that had been at the Red Bull Theatre occupied the theatre, only to meet

5621-537: Was constructed of lath and plaster , with wood floors in the galleries. its attachment to the stage is unknown but presumably similar to that of the Swan . The stage was forty-three feet across; it was covered with tile. Henslowe and Alleyn's plans met with considerable opposition from the neighbourhood and city officials. With the aid of their patron, Charles Howard , the Lord Admiral, they secured permission from

5698-635: Was funded by the European Union, with other funds coming from local government. Donald Tusk also attended the theatre's opening on 19 September 2014. It was followed by British Week featuring British touring companies, starting with a Shakespeare's Globe production of Hamlet . For 2014 only, the start of the Shakespeare Festival was moved from August to 27 September, to follow the theatre's opening week. The Shakespeare Festival, British Week and Flemish Week will each recur annually in

5775-599: Was not much used. The hemp system gained popularity first in the United States in the mid nineteenth century. It soon gained popularity in England, as it was inexpensive and provided a great deal of flexibility for moving scenery. Hemp systems are also known as rope line systems, or simply as rope systems. Stage rigging techniques draw largely from ship rigging, as the earliest stagehands were actually sailors seeking employment while on shore leave. Because of this, there

5852-606: Was then demolished in the early 19th century, and the site used for housing. The city's Great Synagogue subsequently stood there until it was demolished by the Nazis in 1939. The site was later used as a car park. The Theatrum Gedanense Foundation was founded in 1991, with Charles, Prince of Wales as its patron. In 1993 it established Shakespeare Week, which in 1997 became the Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival . The annual event accompanies Gdańsk's St. Dominic's Fair . In 2004

5929-429: Was £520. The total expenses for the project, including the securing of property rights and clearances of previous leases, came to £1,320. Maintaining the theatre cost about £120 per year in the first decade of its existence. Because the contract for the construction was preserved among Alleyn's papers, a good deal more is known about the Fortune than about the other outdoor theatres. The document also casts some light on

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