REGULATION OF THE THEATRE BY THE MONARCHY.
It is true the monarchy attempted to regulate the theatre in England. The reason behind the regulation was that during that era, the actors were not closely supervised. The implication is that the actors had a lot of freedom, which made most illegal companies claim patronage falsely to the theatre. The performance of the theatre also caused religious controversy as many plays written in those days were religion-related. Due to these reasons, queen Elizabeth took several measures aimed at bringing order during this chaotic period.
The monarchy took several measures in the year 1559, such as the banning of plays related to both the religion and political subjects. The monarchy also made the local officials responsible for licensing all the public performance in their jurisdictions. However, these regulations were not effective in 1570, which led to the suppression of religious cycles systematically. The destruction ended in 1581 with the closure of the Coventry cycle. It was declared illegal for anyone below a baron’s rank to authorize a tour or maintain a Troup in 1572.
In 1580, Thomas Lodge, in defense of poetry, argued that literature was the most effective way to teach morality to move people in the right direction. The poem formed the beginning of Hellenism ideal in England, which profoundly influenced the following generation of writers. These controversies encouraged the monarchy to take further control of the theater. Therefore, the monarchy succeeded in regulating the theater, although it did not suppress it entirely.