Sunday, July 27, 2014

Why was the theater closed in 1642?

The English Civil War had begun earlier in 1642, so many people began to feel going to the theater was purely frivolous at such a time. Further, the rise of Puritanism had already begun to chip away at theater attendance because Puritans considered such forms of entertainment to be corrupting influences. Puritans rose to power in the British Parliament in 1642, giving them the power to shut down all theaters. Puritans even began to demolish those theaters, just to be sure they could not be used. In the meantime, anyone caught going to a theatrical production could actually be fined. The war not only affected the theater, but it forever changed the way the English monarchy and Parliament would function.

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