Revels refers, broadly speaking, to the formal institution of the English theatre between the late 15th century and early 18th century. The name for a government official in charge of theatre was Master of the Revels. His office, the Office of the Revels, grew out of an increasing recognition of the cultural importance of theatre. At first the office was largely a vehicle for the government to fund its own theatre productions. Later, as theatre became increasingly a function of private groups, and increasingly available to the general public, the Office of the Revels shifted to the role of maintaining government control over all theatre performance in England. The primary mechanism for control was requiring that all new plays go through a process of censorship before they could be presented to an audience.

Why have government control of theatre?

This section discusses why the English government set up a formal institution, the Office of the Revels, to supervise theatre.

Development of the Office of the Revels

This section lists the individuals who held the Master of the Revels title, and indicates how the role and responsibilities changed over the years.

Revels and Festivals

This section describes the origins of English theatre and its connections with the annual cycle of celebrations.

Cynthia's Revels

This section analyzes the play Cynthia's Revels, by Ben Jonson.

References

This section presents other sources of information about the Office of the Revels.

You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
As if you were dismay'd: be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended.

from The Tempest by William Shakespeare; Act 4, Scene 1.

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