Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former
Blackfriars Dominican priory in the
City of London during the
Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the
Children of the Chapel Royal,
child actors associated with the
Queen's chapel
choirs who from 1576 to 1584 staged plays in the vast hall in the former monastery. The second theatre dates from the purchase of the upper part of the priory and another building by
James Burbage in 1596, which included the Parliament Chamber on the upper floor that was converted into the playhouse. The Children of the Chapel played in the theatre beginning in the autumn of 1600 until the
King's Men took over in 1608. They successfully used it as their winter playhouse until all the theatres were closed in 1642 when the
English Civil War began.