ABSTRACT
The popular enthusiasm for the comedia nueva in Golden Age Spain, combined with the appeal of play-going within even the highest social circles, assured the success of the theatre throughout most of the seventeenth centwy The theatrical world became attractive and potentially lucrative to a whole host of individuals and bodies, and with its rise came increased regulation. Although it is tempting to ascribe the confidence of actor-managers and entrepreneurs to the ascendancy of Lope de Vega's theatrical star, in fact it was as early as the mid-sixteenth century that Lope de Rueda from Seville (see pp. 14-15), and then the Italian Ganassa, began to turn potential into sustained financial success. In Spain's urban centres, even before the advent of Lope's new drama, the world of the theatre had begun to attract individuals with vision and an eye for a profit, and the inevitable accompanying law-suits. The theatrical world would change a great deal during the writing life of Lope. but some of its important structures were in place before his unique talents had come to the fore.
