Mapping London's Theater Districts, 1576-1642

FAIN: RZ-292774-23

Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN 47907-2040)
Paul White (Project Director: November 2022 to present)
Nicole Kong (Co Project Director: September 2023 to present)
Christopher Matusiak (Co Project Director: September 2023 to present)

Research and writing leading to a digital project exploring the cultural, economic, and social influence of four theater districts in early modern London. (36 months) 

Shakespeare’s Theaterscape: London Playhouse Districts (1576–1642) is a scholarly digital project that couples theater history scholarship with GIS technology to better understand the place of particular playhouses within their urban contexts. This collaborative project by an international team of scholars centers on digital cartographic reconstructions of four discrete theatrical and entertainment districts in early modern London. A fully open-access website will feature these interactive maps, a collection of edited source materials on which the maps are based, and a series of interpretive essays exploring the implications of the research. The first phase of the project will be completed in September 2026.