1588

A new wave in theatre begins

Malcolm Storry performs
Jonson's "Poetaster"By 1588, the jigging rhymes used in plays popularly performed by the Queen's Men and others had become tired. Art at this time was just as driven by the demands of box office takings as it is today.

When Thomas Kyd's "Spanish Tragedy" became a hit with its new use of language, talents like Christopher Marlowe were quick to adapt and enhance the new techniques in work like "Tamburlaine," which, like "Spanish Tragedy," enjoyed great popularity on the London stage.

Behind the scenes, William Shakespeare's modus operandi would have been changing to fit the mood of the times.