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The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare
How Shakespeare became a riveting tale of London’s first playhouse and the people—actors, writers, builders, investors—who built the Theatre.
Between 1576 and 1598, a playhouse called the Theatre stood in the northeast suburbs of London, until it was secretly torn down and its timbers used to build the much more famous Globe. Dreamed up and run by a former actor and notorious brawler named James Burbage, the Theatre was the first purpose-built commercial playhouse in London. It was plagued by litigation, heavily in debt, and the target of endless condemnation by preachers and the Lord Mayor. It was also where the young William Shakespeare worked when he first arrived in London, and it was here that he wrote many of his early plays.
At the heart of the Theatre was the dream of making money from creating art. This was Burbage’s dream, of course, but it was also Shakespeare’s, who worked with a close team of actors and cowriters at the Theatre, building the foundations of his own career and devising a way to make money from writing. Nobody had ever really done this playwrights in his time were notoriously poor; and the idea that one might earn a living from writing remains a faint and tempting one today.
Daniel Swift’s The Dream Factory is a story about art and money, creativity and craft, literary inspiration and the profit motive. The Theatre was a controversial, highly commercial factory for great and challenging art; into the dream factory walked the son of a Stratford tradesman, and out emerged the greatest writer in English.
Between 1576 and 1598, a playhouse called the Theatre stood in the northeast suburbs of London, until it was secretly torn down and its timbers used to build the much more famous Globe. Dreamed up and run by a former actor and notorious brawler named James Burbage, the Theatre was the first purpose-built commercial playhouse in London. It was plagued by litigation, heavily in debt, and the target of endless condemnation by preachers and the Lord Mayor. It was also where the young William Shakespeare worked when he first arrived in London, and it was here that he wrote many of his early plays.
At the heart of the Theatre was the dream of making money from creating art. This was Burbage’s dream, of course, but it was also Shakespeare’s, who worked with a close team of actors and cowriters at the Theatre, building the foundations of his own career and devising a way to make money from writing. Nobody had ever really done this playwrights in his time were notoriously poor; and the idea that one might earn a living from writing remains a faint and tempting one today.
Daniel Swift’s The Dream Factory is a story about art and money, creativity and craft, literary inspiration and the profit motive. The Theatre was a controversial, highly commercial factory for great and challenging art; into the dream factory walked the son of a Stratford tradesman, and out emerged the greatest writer in English.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published November 11, 2025
50 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Swift
11 books14 followersDaniel Swift teaches at the New College of the Humanities in London. His first book, Bomber County, was long-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize and the Guardian First Book Award, and his essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, the New Statesman, and Harper’s Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 5, 2026
For all serious students of Elizabethan England and Shakespearean theatre, it's a well-known fact that the Globe theatre was created out of an earlier construction which was taken down and transported across the Thames before being rebuilt on Bankside. In this book, Swift recounts the whole story in which he focuses on the personalities of the men (and one woman) who were responsible for the creation of the original 'Theatre', the Burbage family and their contemporaries.
Whilst the author does occasionally stray into the unnecessarily detailed minutiae of financial dealings or, on one occasion, spend pages dissecting Richard Burbage's choice of a broom to see off a litigious rival, he does fill a gap by focusing his story on the scene of Shakespeare's early run of success in the Shoreditch playhouse. Swift's portrayal of the Bard's rivals - particularly Robert Greene - are eye-opening and his analyses of A midsummer night's dream and Romeo and Juliet are fascinatingly inciteful.
I particularly enjoyed his comparison of the plot of the latter to the swelling of the ocean!
Overall, however, the greatest pleasure of this book is that everyone involved in the establishment of the dream factory that was 'The Theatre' and - by extension - 'The Globe', from James Burbage to Shakespeare himself, via carpenters, rivals and financial backers, is named and described, bringing the story tantalizingly alive across the four centuries that have elapsed since. Well recommended!
Whilst the author does occasionally stray into the unnecessarily detailed minutiae of financial dealings or, on one occasion, spend pages dissecting Richard Burbage's choice of a broom to see off a litigious rival, he does fill a gap by focusing his story on the scene of Shakespeare's early run of success in the Shoreditch playhouse. Swift's portrayal of the Bard's rivals - particularly Robert Greene - are eye-opening and his analyses of A midsummer night's dream and Romeo and Juliet are fascinatingly inciteful.
I particularly enjoyed his comparison of the plot of the latter to the swelling of the ocean!
Overall, however, the greatest pleasure of this book is that everyone involved in the establishment of the dream factory that was 'The Theatre' and - by extension - 'The Globe', from James Burbage to Shakespeare himself, via carpenters, rivals and financial backers, is named and described, bringing the story tantalizingly alive across the four centuries that have elapsed since. Well recommended!
January 20, 2026
First book (in full) of 2026! Very interesting and takes me back to reading critical articles in uni 📚
November 11, 2025
The Dream Factory; London’s first Playhouse and the making of William Shakespeare by Daniel Swift, I listened to the audio version narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies who had the perfect voice for this topic. The book is about the first playhouse built in London it starts with the man who built it the issues they had getting it built the lawsuits what one had to go through to become a skilled laborer on the playhouse. I found a lot of the subjects with very in depth there were many lawsuits even after the Playhouse was built the main guy James Burbagess, who had no respect for the court nor any decrees the court rendered. There was even a “who’s the daddy“ scandal that happened between James and Miles two of the main players in the story that is besides William Shakespeare who even mentions James in his will this isn’t a long story but OMG is it packed full of information that was all entertaining to me the only part I can honestly say I wasn’t that into was his analysis of the Romeo and Juliet play because most of it to me made no sense. I did enjoy learning about the actors and when they could play women because at the time women weren’t sought after to act in place. Not to mention I found it also interesting that a man who put so much into building the Playhouse would deny ever having anything to do with it because he didn’t want high society to know he even was entertained by such dribble. from who didn’t get paid to who did I love history and find it also interesting from the villains to the heroes not that this book had a hero but either way this is a great book a fun role back in time that I absolutely enjoyed. Anyone who likes history with storie’s modern to the day the book covers will absolutely enjoy it. There is so much I left out of this review because there’s no way I could put it all in just know this is a great book and one any fan of history would love. not to mention the great narration by Matthew Lloyd Davies. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #DanielSwift, #TheDreamFactory,
October 9, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advance copy of this history and biography about a building that gave a man a chance to hone his craft, to learn the art of stage and writing, a man whose works we still celebrate, and a theater that is almost as famous.
I know a few writers in different fields. A ghost writer, one who works in advertising, one who writes for magazines on different subjects, and a a reviewer of books, film and well, life. Though there writing subjects are different, they all like to write in places that somehow inspire them. One likes a busy coffee shop, where even with the sounds of steamed milk and clacking keyboards of other writers, a work can be brought together. Another loves libraries, being surrounded by works inspires that writer, along with the silence. One does their best on a subways, where short pieces come together, typed on a Iphone while traveling between stations. Writers need a place to feel productive, to feel inspired, and sometimes to make a little money from. For a young man names William Shakespeare, this was the Theatre, where Shakespeare was able to create some of his earliest works. A changing time in England, with new ideas both in the arts and in finance, changes that would lead to big changes in society and the world. The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare by Daniel Swift is a biography of a building, a profile of an artist, and a guide to one of the first places for performing plays, the controversies, the lawsuits, and of course the plays.
England in 1576 was an interesting time, with change in both class, society religion and also the arts. The idea or performing plays was looked down on, both for health reasons, the plague in particular, but also as many religious leaders preached against plays. One man, an ex-actor and a man of cantankerous spirit thought that he could not only live his dream, but make some money while doing it. James Burbage was the dreamer, buying a plot of land outside of the City of London, away from magistrates who might try to stop him, with plans to open a theater like no other. Burbage teamed with his brother-in-law a wealthy store owner to help him pay for and build a theater that not only performed plays, but served as a place to allow artists to hone their craft. This ran into problems, with fines from various groups for not following the rules, and the usual expenses that came from starting anything in the arts. Called the Theatre, one of the young men working as part of the players was a young man names William Shakespeare, and some of his earliest works were written and performed there. Again as with most things that involve the arts, there were lawsuits, accusations, fights, sides were taken, and eventually the Theatre was literally taken down, and reassembled elsewhere, and known better as The Globe Theatre.
The book was different than what I expected, but I enjoyed it far more for those reasons. This is book that talks about plays, performing and theatre life, but also about guilds, apprenticeships, how places were built, and much more. Swift has done a very good job researching the time, discussing the life of builders, apprentices and what they could expect from life. Looking at the soil built with relics and stones from Roman times. Following the court cases, the numerous court cases dealing with the Theatre and its owners. And the final dismantling and moving is really well told also. Swift has a real ability to make everything clear and understandable, from writing, to ownership, to even how apprentice ships and carpenter guilds work. An interesting look at the world around Shakespeare, and how it molded him into the writer he became.
A book for those interested in Shakespeare, and those interested in history. Also as a role player found the history of guilds, and early workmen unions equally intriguing. A different look at Shakespeare and his works, and one that gives a very interesting profile of the world he created in.
I know a few writers in different fields. A ghost writer, one who works in advertising, one who writes for magazines on different subjects, and a a reviewer of books, film and well, life. Though there writing subjects are different, they all like to write in places that somehow inspire them. One likes a busy coffee shop, where even with the sounds of steamed milk and clacking keyboards of other writers, a work can be brought together. Another loves libraries, being surrounded by works inspires that writer, along with the silence. One does their best on a subways, where short pieces come together, typed on a Iphone while traveling between stations. Writers need a place to feel productive, to feel inspired, and sometimes to make a little money from. For a young man names William Shakespeare, this was the Theatre, where Shakespeare was able to create some of his earliest works. A changing time in England, with new ideas both in the arts and in finance, changes that would lead to big changes in society and the world. The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare by Daniel Swift is a biography of a building, a profile of an artist, and a guide to one of the first places for performing plays, the controversies, the lawsuits, and of course the plays.
England in 1576 was an interesting time, with change in both class, society religion and also the arts. The idea or performing plays was looked down on, both for health reasons, the plague in particular, but also as many religious leaders preached against plays. One man, an ex-actor and a man of cantankerous spirit thought that he could not only live his dream, but make some money while doing it. James Burbage was the dreamer, buying a plot of land outside of the City of London, away from magistrates who might try to stop him, with plans to open a theater like no other. Burbage teamed with his brother-in-law a wealthy store owner to help him pay for and build a theater that not only performed plays, but served as a place to allow artists to hone their craft. This ran into problems, with fines from various groups for not following the rules, and the usual expenses that came from starting anything in the arts. Called the Theatre, one of the young men working as part of the players was a young man names William Shakespeare, and some of his earliest works were written and performed there. Again as with most things that involve the arts, there were lawsuits, accusations, fights, sides were taken, and eventually the Theatre was literally taken down, and reassembled elsewhere, and known better as The Globe Theatre.
The book was different than what I expected, but I enjoyed it far more for those reasons. This is book that talks about plays, performing and theatre life, but also about guilds, apprenticeships, how places were built, and much more. Swift has done a very good job researching the time, discussing the life of builders, apprentices and what they could expect from life. Looking at the soil built with relics and stones from Roman times. Following the court cases, the numerous court cases dealing with the Theatre and its owners. And the final dismantling and moving is really well told also. Swift has a real ability to make everything clear and understandable, from writing, to ownership, to even how apprentice ships and carpenter guilds work. An interesting look at the world around Shakespeare, and how it molded him into the writer he became.
A book for those interested in Shakespeare, and those interested in history. Also as a role player found the history of guilds, and early workmen unions equally intriguing. A different look at Shakespeare and his works, and one that gives a very interesting profile of the world he created in.
February 1, 2026
Yawn. Major snooze fest…
If you enjoy reading about petty legal squabbles and boring depositions, this book is for you, as it recounts one mundane, meaningless dispute after another.
One might think a book proclaiming to be about Elizabethan era theater would be chock full of details about the actors and playwrights of the day, the various touring companies to which they belonged and their aristocratic patrons, many of whom were famous if not infamous themselves. Aside from a few pages devoted almost exclusively to Richard Burbage (the son of the man credited with building the Theater) and a few more pages focusing on a handful of other playwrights, this book doesn’t delve very deep into the renowned players and playwrights of the era. Instead countless pages are filled with banal details, like the symbols carpenters and other workmen used to sign their name on depositions and the history of the word “company.”
Most references to Shakespeare throughout the book are couched with qualifying phrases that raise doubt about their validity, The book is riddled with hypotheticals like, “he likely” did XYZ or “it’s possible that he…” or “it must have been…” or “We must suppose the William Shakespeare was…” or “We cannot be sure if…” Worse yet, supposed statements of fact are frequently followed by admissions that there is no evidence of the assertion being made.
And far from shedding any light or analysis on Shakespeare’s work, the author instead focuses on trivial elements, like how often the word “company” appears in his plays. (Who cares?!?)
The chapters of this book are divided into the various “characters” behind the Theater: those who built it (the carpenters, the apprentices, etc), those who had a financial interest in it (the landlords, the money men) and a paltry section devoted to those who performed in it (though few are mentioned beyond Richard Burbage). And yet it failed to address one of the most important elements of any theater: the public — and the degree to which the stage was a powerful medium at a time when most people were not literate.
But perhaps the most glaring omission is how little reference there is in this book to Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (who is noted but briefly three times), despite the book having been so recently published in 2025. There is no acknowledgement whatsoever of the well documented controversy — evidenced by the volumes of published work by reputable authors over the last several decades — that de Vere was very likely responsible for the plays published under Shakepeare’s name. Whether or not you believe de Vere is the true author, readers will be disappointed by this book’s failure to acknowledge that there is any controversy surrounding the true idenity of Shakespeare.
And don’t get me started on the author’s failure to include any meaningful discussion of William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth’s right-hand man. As the most powerful man in England of the day, Cecil was involved in almost every aspect of Elizabethan life for the 40 years from 1548 to 1590. And yet he is referenced only once here, and not significantly so.
Bottomline, this book is not worth the pulp it is printed on.
If you enjoy reading about petty legal squabbles and boring depositions, this book is for you, as it recounts one mundane, meaningless dispute after another.
One might think a book proclaiming to be about Elizabethan era theater would be chock full of details about the actors and playwrights of the day, the various touring companies to which they belonged and their aristocratic patrons, many of whom were famous if not infamous themselves. Aside from a few pages devoted almost exclusively to Richard Burbage (the son of the man credited with building the Theater) and a few more pages focusing on a handful of other playwrights, this book doesn’t delve very deep into the renowned players and playwrights of the era. Instead countless pages are filled with banal details, like the symbols carpenters and other workmen used to sign their name on depositions and the history of the word “company.”
Most references to Shakespeare throughout the book are couched with qualifying phrases that raise doubt about their validity, The book is riddled with hypotheticals like, “he likely” did XYZ or “it’s possible that he…” or “it must have been…” or “We must suppose the William Shakespeare was…” or “We cannot be sure if…” Worse yet, supposed statements of fact are frequently followed by admissions that there is no evidence of the assertion being made.
And far from shedding any light or analysis on Shakespeare’s work, the author instead focuses on trivial elements, like how often the word “company” appears in his plays. (Who cares?!?)
The chapters of this book are divided into the various “characters” behind the Theater: those who built it (the carpenters, the apprentices, etc), those who had a financial interest in it (the landlords, the money men) and a paltry section devoted to those who performed in it (though few are mentioned beyond Richard Burbage). And yet it failed to address one of the most important elements of any theater: the public — and the degree to which the stage was a powerful medium at a time when most people were not literate.
But perhaps the most glaring omission is how little reference there is in this book to Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (who is noted but briefly three times), despite the book having been so recently published in 2025. There is no acknowledgement whatsoever of the well documented controversy — evidenced by the volumes of published work by reputable authors over the last several decades — that de Vere was very likely responsible for the plays published under Shakepeare’s name. Whether or not you believe de Vere is the true author, readers will be disappointed by this book’s failure to acknowledge that there is any controversy surrounding the true idenity of Shakespeare.
And don’t get me started on the author’s failure to include any meaningful discussion of William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth’s right-hand man. As the most powerful man in England of the day, Cecil was involved in almost every aspect of Elizabethan life for the 40 years from 1548 to 1590. And yet he is referenced only once here, and not significantly so.
Bottomline, this book is not worth the pulp it is printed on.
December 19, 2025
Daniel Swift's The Dream Factory was a genuine pleasure to read. A million years ago in college, I double majored in Drama and English, so I've read plenty of books about Shakespeare. What makes The Dream Factory such a pleasure is that it's not so much about Shakespeare. Instead, it explores the nuts and bolts of putting on plays for the general public—which was an innovation at the time.
Swift approaches Elizabethan theater not as an art form, but as a profession. Profession in that ordinary (for the time) forming of a guild, determining what level of apprenticeship/learning is required before one becomes a full-fledged member, the challenge of earning a living when the theaters were closed pretty much every summer due to plague, the splitting of profits, and the logistics of building a physical theater. That question of building a physical theater is what leads Swift into the comparison of theater companies with guilds. The early theaters were built by craftsmen who were members of a guild of their own, and a significant proportion of those going into theater as a profession started out on the physical, nuts-and-bolts end of things.
Swift points out that just as apprentices' work was the property of their masters until the apprenticeship was completed, playwright's work was not their own, but was sold to an acting company or a publisher that then owned the work and licensed or printed it as desired, so companies and publishers made money, playwrights, not so much.
Swift also examines the way Shakespeare was a sort of apprenticeship that gradually moved into mastery. Early on, Shakespeare co-wrote plays with more experienced and well-know playwrights or wrote plays by himself that made use of familiar, popular tropes of the time. Swift sees this process of collaboration and imitation as a solid starting point for a playwright-apprentice: Shakespeare first learns to shape his voice to others' and that gives him a range of voices that he can use, combine, and modify later for his own purposes.
There's much more in The Dream Factory, but I hope this gives you enough of a sense of what Swift is doing. He's looking at the ordinary, workaday life of Shakespeare's world rather than treating Shakespeare as an artist in the way we now conceive of such an identity. If you're at all interested in the history of theater or English literature, this is a must-read title.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title prom the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
Swift approaches Elizabethan theater not as an art form, but as a profession. Profession in that ordinary (for the time) forming of a guild, determining what level of apprenticeship/learning is required before one becomes a full-fledged member, the challenge of earning a living when the theaters were closed pretty much every summer due to plague, the splitting of profits, and the logistics of building a physical theater. That question of building a physical theater is what leads Swift into the comparison of theater companies with guilds. The early theaters were built by craftsmen who were members of a guild of their own, and a significant proportion of those going into theater as a profession started out on the physical, nuts-and-bolts end of things.
Swift points out that just as apprentices' work was the property of their masters until the apprenticeship was completed, playwright's work was not their own, but was sold to an acting company or a publisher that then owned the work and licensed or printed it as desired, so companies and publishers made money, playwrights, not so much.
Swift also examines the way Shakespeare was a sort of apprenticeship that gradually moved into mastery. Early on, Shakespeare co-wrote plays with more experienced and well-know playwrights or wrote plays by himself that made use of familiar, popular tropes of the time. Swift sees this process of collaboration and imitation as a solid starting point for a playwright-apprentice: Shakespeare first learns to shape his voice to others' and that gives him a range of voices that he can use, combine, and modify later for his own purposes.
There's much more in The Dream Factory, but I hope this gives you enough of a sense of what Swift is doing. He's looking at the ordinary, workaday life of Shakespeare's world rather than treating Shakespeare as an artist in the way we now conceive of such an identity. If you're at all interested in the history of theater or English literature, this is a must-read title.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title prom the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
September 5, 2025
An incredibly detailed book about the Theatre, which had a significant impact on Shakespeare's journey.
My first expectations from this book differed from what I read, but I still liked the book. The book mainly focuses on the Theatre and everything related to it, including masonry, economics, and most importantly, plays and playwrights. Shakespeare and plays from other playwrights are considered in discussions, and the possible relation of some of these plays and playwrights caught my attention. I also liked the discussions related to Greene and Shakespeare. I have found the information in this book very rich and enlightening. This book is related to my area of research, yet I have learned about many things that I was unfamiliar with, especially regarding the theatre as a building.
I particularly liked the illustrations used as examples, especially regarding the masonry and the related discussions.
Interestingly, the only thing I am not sure about this book is the amount of information. I am a fast reader and very familiar with the Early Modern Theatre. Still, I needed a long time to digest this much information. I am not sure whether I would suggest this book to a general audience for this reason. However, anyone interested in not only Shakespeare but also in Early Modern Theatre will find beneficial information in this book, so the decision should be up to the potential reader. I personally am thrilled that I have read this book.
I guess there are a few formatting problems because it's an early copy. For example, some paragraphs start after a double space rather than one in both pdf and kindle versions. In so many quotations, there are dollar signs. I'm guessing it's a formatting mistake. It did not create issues with reading. I just wanted to point this out for a recheck.
Huge thanks to Netgalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Daniel Swift for this advanced reader's copy.
My first expectations from this book differed from what I read, but I still liked the book. The book mainly focuses on the Theatre and everything related to it, including masonry, economics, and most importantly, plays and playwrights. Shakespeare and plays from other playwrights are considered in discussions, and the possible relation of some of these plays and playwrights caught my attention. I also liked the discussions related to Greene and Shakespeare. I have found the information in this book very rich and enlightening. This book is related to my area of research, yet I have learned about many things that I was unfamiliar with, especially regarding the theatre as a building.
I particularly liked the illustrations used as examples, especially regarding the masonry and the related discussions.
Interestingly, the only thing I am not sure about this book is the amount of information. I am a fast reader and very familiar with the Early Modern Theatre. Still, I needed a long time to digest this much information. I am not sure whether I would suggest this book to a general audience for this reason. However, anyone interested in not only Shakespeare but also in Early Modern Theatre will find beneficial information in this book, so the decision should be up to the potential reader. I personally am thrilled that I have read this book.
I guess there are a few formatting problems because it's an early copy. For example, some paragraphs start after a double space rather than one in both pdf and kindle versions. In so many quotations, there are dollar signs. I'm guessing it's a formatting mistake. It did not create issues with reading. I just wanted to point this out for a recheck.
Huge thanks to Netgalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Daniel Swift for this advanced reader's copy.
January 29, 2026
Daniel Swift's The Dream Factory is a fascinating book. There are so many tidbits of information, everything from the lumber used to build the Theatre (and later the Globe); the guild system; how Romeo and Juliet and a Midsummer Night's Dream are mirror plays; and more!
But that's the problem. There is so much in this book, and it's quite readable; however, Swift fails to maintain any kind of focus. He has at least five theses:
1. The history of The Theatre is fascinating and well-documented because it was the subject of numerous lawsuits;
2. We can compare Shakespeare's development as a playwright to the stages of apprentice, journeyman, and master in the guild system;
3. Romeo and Juliet are Shakespeare's masterpiece (in the guild sense);
4. The actors at The Theatre, such as Will Kemp and Richard Burbage, influenced the characters Shakespeare created;
5. The early publication of plays gave profits to the booksellers rather than the playwrights.
6. But wait! There's more!
Ironically, Swift suffers from the same problem as some of the plays Shakespeare rewrote from originals: lack of focus and the need for brutal editing.
That's not to say I didn't learn a lot from The Dream Factory; that's not to say I didn't enjoy it on some level. But I had to restrain myself from taking a red pen to it. If your brain is able to ping-pong around a variety of loosely related topics, you'll find this book intriguing. If you're the kind who loves a well-organized and concise tome, you better skip this one.
But that's the problem. There is so much in this book, and it's quite readable; however, Swift fails to maintain any kind of focus. He has at least five theses:
1. The history of The Theatre is fascinating and well-documented because it was the subject of numerous lawsuits;
2. We can compare Shakespeare's development as a playwright to the stages of apprentice, journeyman, and master in the guild system;
3. Romeo and Juliet are Shakespeare's masterpiece (in the guild sense);
4. The actors at The Theatre, such as Will Kemp and Richard Burbage, influenced the characters Shakespeare created;
5. The early publication of plays gave profits to the booksellers rather than the playwrights.
6. But wait! There's more!
Ironically, Swift suffers from the same problem as some of the plays Shakespeare rewrote from originals: lack of focus and the need for brutal editing.
That's not to say I didn't learn a lot from The Dream Factory; that's not to say I didn't enjoy it on some level. But I had to restrain myself from taking a red pen to it. If your brain is able to ping-pong around a variety of loosely related topics, you'll find this book intriguing. If you're the kind who loves a well-organized and concise tome, you better skip this one.
October 31, 2025
This book is as close to time travel as it’s possible to get. Swift takes us back to a time before Shakespeare, a time before The Globe, when actors and playwrights were humble workers and not the immortal creators that we idolize today. Even before Will gave the world its most famous plays, there was James Burbage. He was a hustler, a brawler and he built The Theatre. Swift went over what one can assume were excruciatingly boring court cases and documents in ye olde English, and translated them into a fascinating, approachable book. He provides the whole context, from the weather, the politics, the architecture of the city, situating the plays in their time. Matthew Lloyd Davies narrates the audiobook beautifully. I learned so much, and parts of it read like fiction. You don’t need to be a huge Shakespeare scholar to appreciate this. I loved it!
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Brilliance Audio.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Brilliance Audio.
December 31, 2025
One of the better books I read late in the year. Swift uses the history of England’s first purpose-built playhouse, the Theater, as a frame for telling the story of the world that, in ways we often underappreciate, made Shakespeare possible. It is a world in which the physical labor of carpenters and other craftsmen combined with heady entrepreneurial spirit to create a literal stage for dramatic performances of all kinds. It is a world which as yet had no word for what Marlowe or Shakespeare did, and the word that had eventually emerged—playwright—reflected its brotherhood with that of many other “wrights” that populated the professional companies of craftsmen (shipwrights, wheelwrights, cartwrights, etc.). It is these so-called livery companies and their system of long-term apprenticeship to a master that, Swift argued, explain Shakespeare’s rise from an apprentice who co-wrote some of his early plays with others, and a Marlowe wannabe to the author of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Romeo and Juliet,” becoming a master of his craft, with these two plays his “master piece.” It is a remarkable world, and an utterly precarious one too: a world in which no copyright existed and a “playwright” was paid only once, when he turned his play over to the acting company; of recurring outbreaks of plague which shut down the theaters; of uncertain or capricious patronage by the high and mighty; of a hostile church and clergy; and not least, of hard-nosed and litigious businessmen and landowners (indeed, litigation records are one his Swift’s main sources). Nothing about Shakespeare was inevitable, least of all the scaffolding and the joints of the material world in which he worked and in which he became the ultimate “master.”
- many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an ARC via NetGalley
- many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an ARC via NetGalley
May 11, 2025
An interesting book about where Shakespeares early plays were performed on his arrival in London. Historians have established that following the dissolution of the monastries by Henry the eighth many churches were were abandoned and often demolished. James Burbage, father of the actor Richard Burbage obtained land and subsequently built a playhouse called The Theatre
The book follows how this playhouse came into being and how, in London at the time, the building was established. It is believed that Shakespeare, although not proved, served his appenticeship at this Theatre
Unfortunately in current times the remains of the theatre are buried under a num,ber of retail outlets. Nevertheless the book does provide an interesting and well researched account about the difficulties incurred in building The Theatre and life within the walls of London.
The book follows how this playhouse came into being and how, in London at the time, the building was established. It is believed that Shakespeare, although not proved, served his appenticeship at this Theatre
Unfortunately in current times the remains of the theatre are buried under a num,ber of retail outlets. Nevertheless the book does provide an interesting and well researched account about the difficulties incurred in building The Theatre and life within the walls of London.
December 1, 2025
A very beguiling study of the context of Shakespeare’s beginnings centered on London’s original theater, called The Theatre, which was set up by the Burbage family, theatre’s first impresarios. Beguiling because Swift has very little evidence (court cases mostly) so the argument proceeds by making stylistic connections through word play: eg the work of play. (or as Frost put it, “Work is play for mortal stakes.”) I think it’s convincing but the limpidity of Swift’s argument rather removes his players from the harshness of life in the 1590s; even the devastation of the plague years is treated more elegiacally than the horror it was. But it’s very good on how Shakespeare learned to write simultaneously with how he figured out how to make a business out of writing in a theatrical joint stock company.
November 13, 2025
Everyone knows that London's Globe Theater was the venue for Shakespeare's greatest plays. Less well known is the fact that Shakespeare made his reputation in a theater called simply The Theatre on the other side of the River Thames. In this thoroughly researched book we get to know the neighborhood and see how they may have influenced Shakespeare's early writing. For example there was an apothecary shop in the nieghborhood, and that might have influenced the detailed references to drugs in Romeo and Juliet. The owners of the theater were constantly in court - suing a being sued. That may have influenced the famous line "First kill all the lawyers." After finishing this work, I am more convinced than ever that Shakespeare wrote his own plays.
December 2, 2025
Less a book about Shakespeare than about the society and community that formed him, this is a detail rich look at the theatre of the time. The narrative does jump around a bit - I occasionally found it hard to follow what was happening when, and think maybe the timeline at the end might be more useful at the start. But a fascinating slice of history that adds to our understanding of Shakespeare and his works.
November 17, 2025
The book has some interesting facts, but is mostly groundless speculation. Much of the content is qualified by words like "could have", "would have", "probably", "likely", etc. More like a historical novel than a history. Contains some information about Shakespeare, but little is known of him during the period covered in the book. More about the Burbage family.
January 26, 2026
[4.5] Accessible and fascinating study of the occupational, financial, and social environments from which the Elizabethan playhouse and its surrounding business structures emerged. Highly valuable for Shakespeare scholars, laced with acute textual observations likely to intrigue theatre practitioners.
December 11, 2025
For Shakespeare and London nerds, a thrilling history read.
December 25, 2025
The Dream Factory by Daniel Swift was informative for sure, but it was also very dull. Perhaps it would have benefited from a different narrator because this book because my go to book before bed.
January 11, 2026
Audiobook
Essential for those interested in theater history and Shakespeare’s work.
Essential for those interested in theater history and Shakespeare’s work.
February 3, 2026
A fascinating, highly specific history, based in part on surviving records from court cases, of the theatre world in Shakespeare’s time.
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