Eliizabethan Theatre, sometimes called English Renaissance
theatre, refers to that style of performance plays which
blossomed during the reign of Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-
1603 CE) and which continued under her Stuart successors.
Elizabethan theatre witnessed the first professional actors who
belonged to touring troupes and who performed plays of blank
verse with entertaining non-religious themes.
The first purpose-built permanent theatre was established in
London in 1576 CE and others quickly followed so that drama
simply to entertain became a booming industry. Theatres showing
plays daily led to permanent acting companies which did not have
to tour and so could invest more time and money into wowing their
audience of both sexes and all social classes. The most
celebrated playwright of the period was William Shakespeare
(1564-1616 CE) whose works were performed at the famous Globe
Theatre in London and covered such diverse themes as history,
romance, revenge, murder, comedy and tragedy.
The typical Elizabethan stage was a platform, as large as 40 feet
square (more than 12 metres on each side), sticking out into the
middle of the yard so that the spectators nearly surrounded it.
It was raised four to six feet and was sheltered by a roof,
called or In most theatres the stage roof, supported by two
pillars set midway at the sides of the stage, concealed an upper
area from which objects could be raised or lowered. At the rear
of the stage was a multileveled facade with two large doors at
stage level. There was also a space for of hidden characters, in
order to advance the plot; this was probably located between the
doors. Some scenes took place in a playing area on the second
level of the facade, but, again, historians disagree as to which
scenes they were.
All of the theatre buildings were round, square, or octagonal,
with thatched roofs covering the structure surrounding an open
courtyard. Spectators, depending on how much money they had,
could either stand in the yard, which may have sloped toward the
stage, sit on benches in the galleries that went around the
greater part of the walls, sit in one of the private boxes, or
sit on a stool on the stage proper. The importance of this type
of theatre was its flexibility.
The Elizabethan theatre differed in that it had a main platform,
an inner stage, and an upper stage level that made movement
possible in all directions instead of simply along the length of
a narrow stage.
theatre, refers to that style of performance plays which
blossomed during the reign of Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-
1603 CE) and which continued under her Stuart successors.
Elizabethan theatre witnessed the first professional actors who
belonged to touring troupes and who performed plays of blank
verse with entertaining non-religious themes.
The first purpose-built permanent theatre was established in
London in 1576 CE and others quickly followed so that drama
simply to entertain became a booming industry. Theatres showing
plays daily led to permanent acting companies which did not have
to tour and so could invest more time and money into wowing their
audience of both sexes and all social classes. The most
celebrated playwright of the period was William Shakespeare
(1564-1616 CE) whose works were performed at the famous Globe
Theatre in London and covered such diverse themes as history,
romance, revenge, murder, comedy and tragedy.
The typical Elizabethan stage was a platform, as large as 40 feet
square (more than 12 metres on each side), sticking out into the
middle of the yard so that the spectators nearly surrounded it.
It was raised four to six feet and was sheltered by a roof,
called or In most theatres the stage roof, supported by two
pillars set midway at the sides of the stage, concealed an upper
area from which objects could be raised or lowered. At the rear
of the stage was a multileveled facade with two large doors at
stage level. There was also a space for of hidden characters, in
order to advance the plot; this was probably located between the
doors. Some scenes took place in a playing area on the second
level of the facade, but, again, historians disagree as to which
scenes they were.
All of the theatre buildings were round, square, or octagonal,
with thatched roofs covering the structure surrounding an open
courtyard. Spectators, depending on how much money they had,
could either stand in the yard, which may have sloped toward the
stage, sit on benches in the galleries that went around the
greater part of the walls, sit in one of the private boxes, or
sit on a stool on the stage proper. The importance of this type
of theatre was its flexibility.
The Elizabethan theatre differed in that it had a main platform,
an inner stage, and an upper stage level that made movement
possible in all directions instead of simply along the length of
a narrow stage.
