The Elizabethan theatre

 

The ELIZABETHAN PLAYHOUSE was small

It was CIRCULAR or OCTAGONAL in SHAPE.
It was built around a COURTYARD or PIT (PALCO), where the poorer spectators stood, exposed to the rain or the sun.
It had three tiers (rows) of galleries, where those who paid more could sit.
THE GROUNDLINGS
The ordinary people of London streets
They paid one penny to stand in the yard around the three open sides of the stage.
There was intimate communication between the audience and the actors on the stage.
People who paid two pennies(or five?) could sit in one of the galleries






THE STAGE
APRON STAGE
It was a long platform which jutted out into the pit and was surrounded by the spectators on three sides.At its back there was a curtain, which could be drawn, thus revealing a second stage.
INNER STAGE
It was generally used by the actors as a room where they could rest or change their costumes.
When necessary, the inner stage was also used to represent taverns, tombs....
UPPER STAGE
Over the inner stage and at the level of the second gallery, there was the upper stage, which could be used to represent the walls of a castle or of a town, or for scenes where an upper level was required

• It seems that all social classes went to the theatre
• Performances took place in the daylight
• There was no scenery
• The costumes were rich
• There were sound effects and music
• The language was rich in imagery and metaphors
• Women were not allowed to act. They were replaced by boy actors
• Both in speech and gesture, acting was more formal than modern acting

The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613.^[ A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed in 1642.

A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named "Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997 approximately 750 feet (230 m) from the site of the original theatre