Shakespeare's Restless World 14. Disguise and Deception
May 3, 2012
A pedlar's trunk reveals a world of disguise, from theatrical cross-dressing to priests hiding as peddlers. Objects like fabrics and secret vestments show how travel, gossip and religious danger shaped everyday life. The talk traces how costumes and concealment worked onstage and on the roads in Elizabethan and Jacobean England.
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Disguise As Core Theatrical Device
- Elizabethan theatre used disguise as both a practical convention and a key dramatic device to enable complex identity play.
- Neil MacGregor ties boy actors' female roles and on-stage cross-dressing to broader cultural fascination with shifting identities.
Examining A Peddler's Trunk
- Neil MacGregor inspects an Elizabethan peddler's trunk packed with linen, silk, damasks and a pink silk-lined bonnet.
- The trunk looks sturdy, covered in animal hide and has leather loops showing it was carried on horseback.
Peddlers As Market And News Networks
- Peddlers filled gaps before village shops by circulating goods and news across the country.
- Margaret Spufford and Neil MacGregor note peddlers' roles as entertainers, sellers, and informal news carriers.