Historical Context (Week 3 & Week 4)

WEEK 3 - SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON AND ELIZABETHAN AUDIENCES

QUESTION: What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theatre?

You can start by reading the ‘London’ and ‘Audiences’ factsheets on the Globe website.

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/fact-sheets

London was the biggest and richest city in England; it was the home of the first permanent playhouses. People had money to go to the theatre. The average of theatre audience members were around about 20,000 per week. Rich noblemen became patrons of theatre companies, giving financial and legal support. Royalty also supported the theatre. From 1603 to 1613, Shakespeare’s company played at the court of King James about 15 times per year.  London was big due to the increase of citizens between 1550 and 1600. This was because of immigration throughout England and Europe.

Almost everyone of London’s society went to the theatre to watch the plays put on. It was known in those times that it was most likely men would attend than females. It was known that royals showed an appreciation towards theatre, however, they wouldn’t go to public places to watch it. So they would summon actors to perform the plys privately at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I.

For a grounding ticket it would cost 1 penny. For 2 pennies you could get a bench seat in the lower galleries of the yard.For a few more pennies you would sit higher up with a bit more comfort. However, wherever they stayed to watch the play did not always determine the behavior of the audience. It was known that people would loudly react to the characters by booing and cheering. Fights would break out in the pit as well.

WEEK 4 - THEATRES, ACTORS AND ACTING IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME

QUESTION: What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them?

QUESTION: Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today?

http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeares-Theater/

Use the Globe’s fact sheets on Actors and Playhouses http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/fact-sheets

There were different types of playhouses. Outdoor playhouses (amphitheatres/ public playhouses) or indoor playhouses. In 1567 the first playhouse  ‘The Red Lion’ was built by John Brayne. Between the 1570s and the 1620s more playhouses were built due to the success of the first one. Although playhouses brought in huge audiences, they were still considered as not a big hit. Especially towards the people that lived inside the city walls. They thought that playhouses were loud and disruptive and brought in bad people. That’s why playhouses were located outside the city walls.

All outdoor playhouses had:
• a central yard that was open to the sky;
• a raised stage sticking out into the yard;
• a roof over the stage, which was called ‘the heavens’,
although the first Rose theatre (1587-92) may not have
had one;
• a tiring house behind the stage with a backstage area,
where actors dressed and waited to come on. Above
this were lords’ rooms, rooms for storage, and a room
level with ‘the heavens’ to work the special effects from;
• galleried seating all around the yard, on several levels,
which was roofed.

The actors on stages were different to what it would be like nowadays. Back then there would be all male casts only, even though some of the characters were females. The female roles would be played out by young males whose voices hadn’t broken at that point. Comical female characters could potentially be played by a popular adult comic actor, or clown. Costumes, were second hand clothing worn by nobles who have got rid of their old clothes. In our time female roles would be played by either males or females. Any sort of costume would be acceptable and there are companies that design costumes, depending on what you are looking for.