The Elizabethan Theatre

Being physically separated from the continent of Europe, both in geography and in language made England somewhat different from France and Italy in its approach to theatre. First of all, church fathers continued to hold theatre in low regard morally; but civic leaders also disapproved of theatre. Theatre attracted crowds, and crowds could spread disease. In plague times, especially, civic officials tended to ban theatre. In order to perform legally at any time, one had to have a license from the Lord Chamberlain. Performance without license was punishable by death! Consequently, classic influences in English theatre were restricted to the learned and the wealthy who could stage small, private productions without violating the law. Large, public productions tended to cater to the tastes of the common people who had been conditioned by the spectacle of the mystery plays.
Excluding informal theatre spaces such as the great halls of the nobility there were seven open-air theatres and four indoor theatres. The open-air theatres could accommodate audiences of 2000 to 3000 spectators. The indoor theatres were much smaller and could accommodate 300 to 400 spectators.

Public theatres were built on the outskirts of cities, tended to be of rather inexpensive construction, provided mainly a platform and a generalized semblance of buildings. Atmosphere was suggested more by description in the dialogue than by visual design. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was a round structure that provided shelter for wealthier people who could afford to pay more; offered a sand or sawdust covered center space for poorer patrons (unprotected from the weather), and a stage that consisted of facades with upper and lower floors, doors and windows and a balcony. These provided for a variety of entrances and for a limited range of special scenes (such as the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.) (Notice the thatched roof -- according to some histories, the thing that led to the destruction of the theatre by fire. Wind supposedly blew sparks from a torch onto the dry thatch and set it ablaze.)

The Elizabethan Theatre

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