Theatre in Elizabethan Times

When Elizabeth became Queen there were no theatres. Any performances that took place had been on a platform in market squares and inn yards, not permanent theatres. Actors were thought to be a threat to law and order and it was not considered to be a reputable career.

1572 – Parliament passed a law that said that actors were to be punished as vagabonds.

All bands of actors were required to be licensed because the government was suspicious of them but it helped them to become more organised.

1577 – ‘The Theatre’ opened followed by several other theatres.

1579 – ‘The Globe’ opened.

Due to the opposition to theatres, they were all located outside of the city walls mainly in the Bankside district of Southwark on the South Bank of the Thames. This area had a bad reputation for bear-baiting rings, pickpockets and brothels.

Design

Uncovered circular pit with surrounding covered galleries
Similar to bear-baiting pits. If they were unsuccessful, they could be easily converted.
No artificial lighting so plays were shown in the afternoon.
A flag above the theatre indicated that it was a performance day and a trumpeter signalled the start of the play.
Women were not allowed to perform.
Behind the stage was an area called the ‘tiring house’ where the actors would dress.

Audience

Cheap entrance fees made performances affordable for everyone.
Rigid social order was upheld within the theatre
Cheapest seats cost one penny in the ‘pit’ – ‘groundlings’ would be in noisy and smelly conditions which were open to the elements. Often badly behaved and threw food at the bad characters on the stage.
Galleries provided 2000 seats at a cost of 2 or 3 pennies. This included seating and sheltered from the weather. A cushion could be provided for an extra penny.
The richest audience members would watch from the ‘Lords’ room above the stage or even sit on the stage itself.

Famous Playwrights

William Shakespeare

Part of the partnership that built the Globe Theatre.
37 plays, mostly during Elizabeth’s reign, performed by the Lord Chamberlain’s men.
Many of his lines became part of everyday speech – “mum’s the word”

Christopher Marlowe

Playwright and poet – Doctor Faustus
Rumoured to be a government spy.
Arrested by Privy Council in 1593.
Died in 1593, stabbed, allegedly in a drunken brawl.

Patronage

   Attitudes towards actors and performances changes in the 1570s. Instead of seeing the theatre as a threat, the government started to see its potential for propaganda.
   They hoped that in London, where the population had quadrupled to about 200,000 people since the start of the Tudor era, the theatre would act as a distraction for the poor and make rebellion less likely.
   If play content was carefully police, it could influence the thoughts and feelings of the audience in favour of the Queen and her government.
   Some companies won the funding and protection of the nobility. Elizabeth’s favourite Robert Dudley, patronised Leicester’s Company and her cousin, Lord Hunsdon formed the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.
   Elizabeth never attended a public performance and instead invited companies to Court to perform. She even allowed one group to call themselves the Queen’s company.

Themes

-   Some plays were designed to flatter Elizabeth with positive political messages.
-   They were also censored in order that they were not too controversial or making obvious references to politicians at the time.
-   Shakespeare’s plays would often emphasis the hierarchy of the Great Chain of Being and exaggerate the triumphs of good over evil.
-   Shakespeare’s play Richard III presented the Tudors in a very positive manner and showed Richard as the Tudor family’s enemy who was a hunchbacked and evil monster. The War of the Roses where Elizabeth’s grandfather, Henry VII, defeated Richard was shown as a huge Tudor victory.