ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with various interactive topics and discussions tend to be complex. During the first half of the sixteenth century, London, as with many cities on the Continent, underwent the spiritual upheaval of the Reformation. The people of London had a far better chance of enjoying dramatic performances even before 1576 and 1577 when the two large playhouses, the Theatre and the Curtain, appeared in the north-eastern suburbs outside the jurisdiction of the authorities, admitting any citizen to see a performance for a penny or two. In the 1560s, when touring companies were accustomed to perform in London inn-yards, there appeared an entrepreneur who recognised the general public's enthusiasm for drama and made a shrewd judgement of the possibility of its business success. A German merchant, Samuel Kiechel of Ulm, visiting London in 1585, was impressed by the two playhouses standing next door to each other in the north-eastern suburbs.
