London: A Theatrical City伦敦：戏剧之城

彼得·阿克罗伊德 兰秀娟

【導读】彼得·阿克罗伊德1949年出生于伦敦，毕业于剑桥大学克莱尔学院，是英国著名小说家、评论家、传记作家和学者。阿克罗伊德出版的著作包括：《伦敦大火》（The Great Fire of London，1982）、《奥斯卡·王尔德的最后遗嘱》（The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde，1984）等虚构作品，《T. S.艾略特》（T. S. Eliot，1984）、《狄更斯》（Dickens，1990）、《托马斯·莫尔的一生》（The Life of Thomas More，1998）等传记，以及《伦敦传》（London： The Biography，2000）、《泰晤士：圣河》（Thames： Sacred River，2007）、《地下伦敦：街道下的秘史》（London Under： The Secret History Beneath the Streets，2011）等非虚构作品。本文节选自《伦敦传》中介绍伦敦剧院历史的内容，通过史实的呈现与生动的刻画，阿克罗伊德再现了伦敦剧院的兴衰及伦敦人的生活图景，凸显了剧院这一重要的伦敦文化地标。

Evidence for a Roman theatre， south-west of St. Paul’s， is now very clear; it was located little more than 150 feet east of the Mermaid Theatre， which is situated by Puddle Dock1. Further evidence can be found for a theatre at Whitechapel2 in 1567; it was just beyond Aldgate， with a stage some five feet high and a series of galleries.

This was in turn followed by the erection of the Theatre in the fields of Shoreditch. It was constructed of wood and thatch， well enough designed to merit the description of this “gorgeous playing-place erected in the Fields.” Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare’s Hamlet were performed here. Certainly it must have proved popular because， a year later， another theatre was built two hundred yards away; it was known as “The Curtain” or， latterly， “The Green Curtain” in deference to the colourful sign painted on its exterior. Theatres， like taverns and shops， were well illustrated to catch the attention of the citizens.

These two early theatres set the standard for those more famous playhouses which play so large a part in Elizabethan cultural history. These playhouses were always outside the walls of the city （unlike the “private” theatre of Blackfriars3）， and the two theatres in the northern fields were constructed upon land once belonging to Holywell Priory; as the name suggests， there was a “holy well” in the immediate vicinity. It may be that they were deliberately sited close to the location where sacred plays had once been staged. This might also account for the presence of a theatre in the old priory of the Blackfriars. Londoners have always been aware of the topography of their city and its environs， so that on many occasions and in many contexts the same activity can be observed taking place in the same location. The situation of the twelfth-century “theatrum” is not known， but it is at least reasonable to suggest that it lay where the Rose， the Swan and the Globe eventually emerged in the 1580s and 1590s.

The popularity of Elizabethan drama characterises Londoners who attended it， both in their affection for colourful ritual and in their admiration of magniloquence4. The taste of the crowd for intermittent5 violence was amply satisfied by the plays themselves， while the Londoners’ natural pride in the history of their city was recognised in those dramatic historical pageants which were part of the diet of the playhouses. When Shakespeare places Falstaff6 and his company in East Cheap7， he is invoking the life of the city which existed two centuries before. Spectacle and violence， civic pride and national honour， all found their natural home in the theatres of London.

And yet the more “Cockney8” Londoners did also manage to attend the new plays; they were not necessarily welcomed in the boxes or the pit with the more prosperous citizens， but they took over the gallery from where they could shout insults or pelt fruit upon both stage and respectable audience. Cockney theatre-goers were only one aspect， however， of the generally partisan and inflammatory aspect of the urban audience. “Claques” would attend in order to cry up， or drown out， the latest production; fights would break out among the gentlemen “of quality，” while there were often riots which effectively concluded all theatrical proceedings. Indeed the riots themselves were somewhat theatrical in appearance.

When in the mid-eighteenth century David Garrick proposed to abolish “half-price” seats， for those who entered after the third of five acts （the whole performance beginning at six o’clock in the evening）， the day appointed for that innovation found the Drury Lane Playhouse filled with a silent crowd. P.J. Grosley composed A Tour of London in 1772， and set the scene. As soon as the play commenced there was a “general outcry” with “fisty-cuffs and cudgels，” which led to further violence when the audience “tore up the benches of the pit and galleries” and “demolished the boxes.” The lion， which had decorated the king’s box， was thrown upon the stage among the actors， and the unicorn fell into the orchestra “where it broke the great harpsichord to pieces.” In his London Journal of 19 January 1763， Boswell remarks that “we sallied into the house， planted ourselves in the middle of the pit， and with oaken cudgels in our hands and shrill-sounding cat calls in our pockets， sat ready prepared.”

Such behaviour in the capital’s theatres continued well into the nineteenth century. A German traveller of 1827， Prince Pückler-Muskau， later caricatured by Charles Dickens as Count Smorltork in The Pickwick Papers， reported that “The most striking thing to a foreigner in English theatres is the unheard-of coarseness and brutality of the audiences.” The “Old Price” riots of 18079 lasted for seventy nights， and the private life of Edmund Kean—accused of being both a drunk and an adulterer—led to four nights of violent rioting in the playhouse of Drury Lane.

What was termed “party spirit” did on more than one occasion prompt fights both among the spectators and the players. The presence of foreigners upon the stage was another cause of uproar; when the “Theatre Historique” arrived at Drury Lane from Paris， there was a general rush for the stage. Mobs surrounded the Theatre Royal in the Haymarket， in 1805， when a comedy entitled The Tail-ors caused offence among the fraternity. Professional boxers were brought into the auditorium by rival groups， as early as 1743， in order to slug it out. This was city drama， in every sense. And yet， in the city itself， the real drama was still performed upon the streets.

圣保罗大教堂的西南方曾坐落着一座罗马时期的剧院，现在是确凿无疑了，它就位于美人鱼剧院东侧仅150英尺的地方，而美人鱼剧院毗邻水坑码头。另有证据可以表明，白教堂区曾于1567年建造了一座剧院，它就位于阿尔德门外，舞台高约5英尺，并设有一系列顶层楼座。

随后，人们又在肖迪奇区的田地上建造了剧院。这座剧院由木头和茅草搭建而成，设计精巧，完全称得上“田地上建造的华美游乐地”。马洛的《浮士德博士的悲剧》与莎士比亚的《哈姆雷特》皆曾在此上演。这里无疑是很受欢迎的，因为一年后，仅两百码外又建起一座剧院。这家剧院便是“幕帷剧院”，也就是后来的“青幕帷剧院”，这个名字是为呼应剧院外部所绘的彩色标记。像酒馆和商铺一样，剧院也打扮得漂漂亮亮吸引市民前往。

后世一些更著名的剧院都是以这两座早期剧院为标准建造的，那些剧院在伊丽莎白时期的文化史上发挥了相当重要的作用。这些剧院常建于城墙外（不同于黑衣修士的“私人”影院），且北部的两座剧院是在曾隶属于霍利韦尔修道院的土地上建起来的。正如“霍利韦尔”（Holywell）这个名字所呈现的，紧邻之地有一座“圣泉”（holy well）。人们或许是有意将剧院建址靠近曾上演过圣剧的地方。这可能也揭示了剧院建于黑衣修士的老修道院中的原因。伦敦人一向熟悉这座城市的地形和环境，因而在诸多情况下，人们能够看到在同一个地方举行相同的活动。12世纪“剧院”的情况不为人知，但至少可以合理地推测，即16世纪80和90年代的玫瑰剧院、天鹅剧院与环球剧院都是在其旧址上兴建的。

伊丽莎白时期戏剧的流行刻画了爱看戏的伦敦人的特点：他们既钟情于浓墨重彩的仪式，也着迷于夸夸其谈的风格。人们对间歇暴力的嗜好在戏剧里得到了充分的满足，而伦敦人对自己城市历史的那种与生俱来的自豪感也在那些露天历史剧（剧院的固定节目）中得到了认可。当莎士比亚将福斯塔夫及其同伴安置在市场东大街时，他是在唤醒这座城市两百年前的生活。盛大场面与暴力、城市自豪感与民族荣誉，这种种都在伦敦的剧院里找到了天然的归宿。

当然，更“地道的”伦敦人也会设法观看新戏;富人出没的包厢和池座未必欢迎他们，但他们占据了顶层楼座，在那里，他们可以对着戏台和体面的观众肆意谩骂或扔水果。不过，爱看戏的伦敦本地人仅仅体现了这座城市的观众中普遍存在的偏狭和煽动性的一面。剧院里有“职业观众”，专门为新戏捧场或喝倒彩;“上等”绅士中间会爆发殴斗，还经常有骚乱，最终导致所有的戏剧表演中断。其实，这些骚乱本身看起来就颇具戏剧味。

18世纪中期，大卫·加里克建议取消“半价”座，那原本是为在五幕剧演出三幕后入场的观众提供的（整场演出晚上6点开始）。这项革新实施的当日，德鲁里巷剧场里挤满了一言不发的观众。P.J.格罗斯雷于1772年创作了《伦敦之旅》，描述了当时的情景。当时，戏一开演，就出现了伴随着“拳脚和棍棒”的“满堂抗议”，随后暴力逐渐升级，观众“拆了乐池和顶层楼座的座椅”，还“毁了包厢”。镶嵌在国王包厢上的狮子装饰被扔到舞台上的演员中间，独角兽装饰则掉进乐池，“砸碎了一架很好的拨弦键琴”。1763年1月19日出版的《伦敦日报》上，博斯韦尔写道：“我们冲进剧院，占据乐池中央，手里拎着橡木棍，兜里装着响哨，一切就绪，坐着等候。”

伦敦各个剧院里这样的行为一直持续到19世纪。1827年，一位德国旅行家普克勒尔-姆斯考王子（后来查尔斯·狄更斯在《匹克威克外传》里将其丑化为斯摩托克伯爵）记述道：“对外国人来说，英国剧院里最令人震惊的是观众们前所未闻的粗俗和野蛮。”1807年的“原价”骚乱持续了70个夜晚;埃德蒙·基恩的私生活（他被指责为酒鬼和奸夫）导致了德鲁里巷剧场连续四晚的暴力骚乱。

所谓的“玩乐精神”不止一次引发斗殴，不仅观众互殴，演员之间也如此。舞台上出现外国人是引起骚动的另一个原因;当“历史剧院”从巴黎来到德鲁里巷时，观众都冲上了舞台。1805年，一出名为《裁缝》的喜剧令一众裁缝不满，暴徒们便包围了干草市场的皇家剧院。早在1743年，敌对团体就邀请职业拳击手一同看戏，以便随时决一死战。这是不折不扣的城市戏剧。然而，在城中，真正的戏剧仍然在街头上演。

（译者单位：中山大学外国语学院）

1水坑码头，位于伦敦金融城黑衣修士区，以前是伦敦一个码头的所在地，现在是一条小街道，也是于2003年关闭的美人鱼剧院的所在地。  2英格蘭伦敦东部的一个区，位于泰晤士河以北。

3道明會或宣道兄弟会，天主教托钵修会的主要派别之一，会士均披黑色斗篷，因此被称为“黑衣修士”。

4 magniloquence 夸夸其谈，虚夸。  5 intermittent 间歇的，断断续续的。  6 = Sir John Falstaff 约翰·福斯塔夫爵士，莎士比亚《亨利四世》与《温莎的风流娘们》中的人物，嗜酒、好斗，且十分自负。  7此处的Cheap与《傲慢与偏见》中的“奇普赛德”（Cheapside）一样，是横贯伦敦城的大街。East Cheap即奇普赛德东街，又称市场东大街。  8 Cockney 伦敦东区的，伦敦当地人的（尤指普通民众或下层民众）。

9考文特花园剧院（Covent Garden Theatre）被烧毁后，管理层试图通过涨价来增加收入，以此填补重建的支出，然而这激起了民众的愤怒，他们持续扰乱这里的演出，导致所有的演出都被迫中断。这就是“原价”骚乱的起因。

Best 10 London Attractions （2）

Hop-on hop-off bus tour

Make the most of your trip to London with a hop-on hop-off bus tour. Spot iconic sites with a live guide （or audio guide） and hop on and off the sightseeing buses as often as you like. Famous attractions you’ll see en route include Buckingham Palace， the London Eye and St Paul’s Cathedral.

Emirates Air Line cable car

Glide high above the Thames with the Emirates Air Line cable car， which provides stunning views of the city， departing every 30 seconds from the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks. See the sights by day or admire the city as it twinkles at night on a flight which lasts five to 10 minutes， depending on the time of day.

London Transport Museum

The London Transport Museum hosts exhibitions connecting transport with the social and cultural history of London. Inside you’ll find more than 80 vehicles spanning 200 years of London’s history， including a red Routemaster bus and the world’s first Underground steam train. There are some great posters and artworks too！

The View from The Shard

Rise high above London and see the city’s iconic skyline from a unique perspective， with views stretching up to 40 miles （64km）. Spot the likes of the London Eye， St Paul’s Cathedral and Wembley Stadium from The View from The Shard’s observation deck， which sits 800ft （244m） up western Europe’s tallest building.

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