It seems
possible, though there is no direct proof. The basis for thinking that
England's greatest dramatist may have actually played here lies in the town's
accounts. These record that on 6th October 1605, Fordwich paid 10 shillings (50
p in modern money) to the King's Players, the leading London-based theatre
company of which William Shakespeare was a member, and for which he wrote his
plays. The payment was an incentive to the King's Players to put on a show in
Fordwich, for which they would have charged additional gate money.
To put
this in context, King James I had been on the throne for two years, following
the death of Queen Elizabeth I. James had become the patron of the company,
which had previously been known as the Chamberlain's Men. Around this time
Shakespeare wrote some of his most profound work. Measure for Measure, Othello,
King Lear and Macbeth were all written and first performed in this period.
Why
would the country's greatest theatre company appear in Fordwich, with a
population of only three hundred? Again, it is only possible to guess the
reason, but there is no doubt that on at least 35 occasions between 1568 and 1633
the town of Fordwich paid sums ranging from 3 shillings (15 p) to 20 shillings
(£1) to various theatre companies.
Fordwich
was then - as it is now - independent of its large neighbour Canterbury. From
about 1560, Canterbury was regularly visited by London-based theatre companies.
Provincial tours, as we would now call them, tended to take place in Lent, when
the increasingly puritan City of London authorities closed the playhouses, in
the summer, when companies often visited the country palaces of their
aristocratic patrons, and during outbreaks of plague.
The
records show that on nearly 100 occasions between 1558 and 1632 the Canterbury
authorities paid appearance fees to theatre troupes for playing before "Master
Mayor and his brethren" as it was often put. These performances seem to
have taken place at the Canterbury Court Hall, what we would now call the town
hall. But it is likely that each appearance before the Mayor would have been only
one of several performances in Canterbury. For instance, we know from the diary
of one Thomas Cocks that he went to plays in Canterbury on the 12th, 13th and 14th April, 1607. On
the first two evenings he spent 1s 2d (6 p, which would have given him the best
seat in the house) and on the third evening he spent 2d (just under 1 p) more,
buying a cheap seat for his manservant. When not playing for the Mayor, the
actors performed in the courtyards of Canterbury inns, including the Chequers
and the Lion.
It seems
likely that Fordwich was attractive to actors because (a) they probably
travelled to and from Canterbury via water, landing and embarking from
Fordwich, and (b) as time went on Canterbury itself became increasingly
puritanical and hostile to all forms of public entertainment. The Mayor and
Jurats of Fordwich saw a chance to bring some serious business to the little
town. Citizens of Canterbury prevented from seeing plays by their strait-laced
masters could easily walk or ride the two miles to Fordwich.
The later
records support this interpretation. Between 1614 and 1633, Fordwich paid
theatre companies to play on ten occasions. During the same period, Canterbury
ceased paying for performances before "Master Mayor and his
brethren", and instead paid actors considerable sums of money to go away.
One
striking example is in 1621, when the King's Players (now minus Shakespeare,
who had died in 1616) received 5s from Fordwich on 2nd August. Yet in the same
year (exact date unknown) Canterbury paid £1 "to William Daniel chief of
the King's Players to rid them out of the city without acting".
Where
did the actors perform in Fordwich? There is no evidence from the existing
records. They may have played in the courtyard of a pub, though it is uncertain
that the predecessor of the Fordwich Arms had one. They might also have put up
a temporary stage on open ground: in modern times, the Globe Theatre touring
company, which often plays in the grounds of St Augustine's Abbey, uses an
authentic reproduction of an Elizabethan travelling stage. The Town Hall, built
in 1544, is a possibility, though it would have been difficult to squeeze much
of an audience in with the players.
At that
time a larger building called the Court Hall, which stretched across what is
now the garden of Watergate House, may still have been standing. This was
probably the manor hall belonging to St Augustine's Abbey, which had owned the
port and manor of Fordwich until its dissolution in 1538. From a stone window
moulding uncovered in 2006, the Court Hall was clearly a fairly grand building.
The manor had been purchased in 1560 by John Johnson, a wealthy merchant from Canterbury,
who rebuilt Watergate House in its present configuration. Johnson's descendants
provided several mayors of Fordwich and it is reasonable to assume that they
would have been involved in the town's dramatic ventures.
The last
recorded payment by Fordwich to an acting troupe - again, the King's Players -
was in 1633. It may not have been the end of all entertainment. During Lent,
1636, the King's Players were involved in a ferocious dispute with the Mayor of
Canterbury, James Nicholson, about the actors' alleged licentious behaviour
during an eight-day stay in the city: the Mayor's complaints went first to
Archbishop Laud, then to the Privy Council in London. During the next four
years Canterbury continued to pay actors to leave town, though perhaps only
after they had performed without permission. Finally, the outbreak of the Civil
War in 1641 put an end to play-going all over England. The theatres were dark
until the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660.