The first Elizabethan playhouse was built by Thomas Burbage and it was called “ The Theatre”. In 1577 was built “The curtain” , in 1587 “The rose” and in 1595 “ The swan”. Puritans considered plays immoral ; they claimed that they attracted thieves and kept people away from work, that’s why playhouses were built in south bank of Thames. In 1597 the “Lord Chamberlain’s men” decided to dismantle that theatre and rebuilt it across the Thames. The southwark of London became the centre of "theatreland" .In 1613 there was a fire at “The Globe” and it was destroyed but rebuilt in 1644. Later it was destroyed by puritans and rebuilt again in 1994.

The main season for performances was winter because the risk of spreading of plague increased during summer. Performances took place during the afternoon with no artificial lighting and they were acted only by men. Generally the Elizabethan playhouse was circular and without roof. The stage was very high and the open-air area was for people that could only pay a penny. They were called groundlings. Around the walls of the theatre there were some galleries with lot of seats for nobles. The groundlings were more involved and they were encouraged by the actors to take part of the performance. There were no curtains and no intervals. The clown had the function to relax the audience after a dramatic action. Elizabethan theatres were violent , noisy, drank and smoked places. In these performances the director was not considered as important as the actors.