ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role and function of the Cockpit-in-Court, Whitehall (1531–1674), the performance space that is the progenitor of the new Cockpit Theatre in the Shakespeare North Playhouse. It examines theatrical drawings by John Webb, who had assisted Inigo Jones in the Cockpit-in-Court’s conversion from a royal cockpit to a permanent theatre, and other primary source evidence related to the original building. The chapter aims to ascertain the relationship between the original and its replica and the extent to which the architect of the SNP, Nicholas Helm, needed to interpret this evidence. In the course of this discussion, new research prompted by the Shakespeare North project is examined to explain significant differences between Webb’s drawings and the replica.
