The Mission of Codpiece Drama

The mission of Codpiece Drama is to introduce readers to popular early modern English playwrights who, today, are lesser known than William Shakespeare. These playwrights include Shakespeare’s collaborators, proteges and competitors, offering their own perspective on the world around them. The English stage flourished during the reign of Elizabeth I (the Elizabethan period), continuing through the reigns of James I (the Jacobean period) and his son, Charles I (the Caroline period), until Puritan rule put an end to this epic of English drama. Typically, this drama was played out on the many stages in and around London, but also in the minds of readers, for these years saw a thriving book trade in printed plays.