London History Walks

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players... 

Shoreditch is where it all began, and some say, Shoreditch is still where it's at!

In Elizabethan times it was semi-rural land, safely beyond the city walls and intrusive Authority.

Not surprisingly the first permanent theatres (The Theatre and The Curtain) were built here and it's not far fetched to say that Shoreditch gave birth to the golden age of English Renaissance Drama. 

But where there are beginnings, endings must follow.  We see the spot where Christopher Marlowe killed a man in self defence and Ben Jonson fought an illegal duel, killing a fellow actor.  Burbage and others found their final resting place in a nearby church.

This is a short tour, but one of the most poignant and atmospheric.

Meets Liverpool Street Station

£3:50 per person

 In 1598 The Theatre was torn down piece by piece by rapier wielding members of The Chamberlain's Men, and was reborn as The Globe on Bankside.