Shakespeare North
At the heart of the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Knowsley, Liverpool, will be a reconstruction of Inigo Jones Cockpit-at-Court playhouse.
Dating from the 1630’s when Inigo Jones converted Henry VIII’s Whitehall Palace cockfighting arena, the original venue had been built 100 years earlier as an oak-framed construction. Detailed accounts of the work undertaken by Jones survive in the royal records and have formed the basis of the reconstruction proposals.
Two elements can therefore be found in the reconstruction; the late medieval/early modern cockpit structure and the English Palladian inserts by Jones, notably a faceted frons scenae.
Known to theatre historians through the compelling drawing made by Inigo Jones’ pupil and successor John Webb, it has been found that the drawing dates from 30 years after Jones’ work and represents a modification of it, possibly un-realised.
Greenfield worked closely with McCurdy & Co on the project. The playhouse opened on 15 July 2022 with the octagonal form of Henry VIII’s Cockpit. An interpretation of Inigo Jones’s frons scenae was installed on 10 August 2023.
