School of Theatre Studies

Centre for Academic Practice

E-lab

PROJECT SURVEY

PART ONE

activity 1

PART TWO

activity 2

PART THREE

activity 3

PART FOUR

multimedia resources

In Part Two, you saw two different interpretations of the evidence for the architectural arrangement of the Marais tennis court theatre. Now, what do you think? Review the translated passages of the 1644 carpenter's contract you have already seen (or try your hand at the original French), and then draw a rough plan and elevation yourself. Does your interpretation agree more with Professor Golder's view, or with Professor Thomas?

Secondly, the phenomenon of "real tennis" and tennis court theatres was not unique to France. Links between tennis courts and theatres, and even tennis players and actors, were also strong in Italy, as you will discover if you explore a web site on real tennis created by Dutch scholar Cees de Bondt . Tennis courts are also an important part of the history of Restoration English theatre architecture; the tennis court theatres of London are featured on Dr. Barbara Murray's site at the University of St. Andrews. Real tennis courts dating from this period can still be found throughout Western Europe; the most famous of these in England is at Hampton Court Palace.

What characteristics of these indoor tennis courts made them so attractive for conversion into temporary or permanent theatres?

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