ELIZABETHAN THEATRES

Medieval English drama was based on the Bible and religious stories. The moral should be as explicit as possible. Plays were performed almost anywhere, for example inside the church and in the streets.

The first Elizabethan playhouse was an open air theatre build in 1576. It was so successful that where built other theatres.
When Shakespeare arrived in London, there was a flourishing drama scene, theatres and companies as well.

At Shakespeare's "globe" the main season was the winter, because the risk of spreading the plague increased during the summer. Playhouses were closed each time the plague killed more than 50 people in one week.
Shakespeare wrote poetry during the plague years (1592-1594).

Performances took place during the afternoon, there was no artificial lighting.
The audiences were made of all sorts of people, rich and poor, but those who paid the lowest price, one penny, did not have a seat, so they had to stand on the ground.

There was no scenery, the audience had to image the scene by listening to the language of the actors. There was no curtain and there were no intervals.

Elizabethan theatres were noisy and considered violent places.

At Shakespeare's time the director was not considered as important as the principal actor. An actor had to acquire the skills of juggling, acrobatics, fencing and dancing.

All in all, Londoners considered going to the theatre an exciting and important part of their lives.