The Triumphs of Repetition: Living Places in Early Modern Mayoral Shows

Abstract

This article expands on previous studies of repetition in mayoral shows by examining the manner by which the genre regularly brings London sites to life. As forms of environmental theatre that fashion civic sites into dramatic participants, the shows repeatedly represent London and its places as recurring characters, or actants, in the civic dramatic events. London locations take on a protean quality by addressing changing and topical circumstances in relation to their functions and topography, despite their seemingly fixed nature. The later shows of Thomas Middleton in particular are explored for the ways in which they blend person and place by merging space and speech through an anonymous speaker in a specific locale. In these instances, place — and by extension the city of London fully — becomes a living part of the drama that speaks and participates in the environmental theatre of the day and year ahead.