1. The Elizabethan theatre
A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named ‘Shakespeare’s Globe’, London.
The Elizabethan theatre
Performer Heritage
Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella,
Margaret Layton © 2016

2. 1. The origins of the theatre
linked to religious celebrations;
took place in the nave of the church;
later they moved outside.
English replaced Latin;
lay people took the place of monks and priests;
the plays were called Mystery Plays.
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3. 2. Reasons for development
Why did drama become the main form of art?
BECAUSE
entertainment was rooted in communal life;
the public were more trained in listening than
in reading;
permanent theatres were built on the South Bank in London;
they prospered as economic enterprises.
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4. 3. London’s permanent theatres
The building of permanent playhouses in London
was a break with the past.
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5. 3. London’s permanent theatres
Towards the end of the 16th century,
several theatres were built:
the Theatre (by James Burbage, 1576);
the Curtain (by James Burbage, 1577);
the Rose (by Philip Henslowe, 1587).
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6. 3. London’s permanent theatres
Towards the end of the 16th century,
several theatres were built:
the Swan (by Francis Langley, 1595);
the Globe (by Cuthbert and Richard Burbage, 1599);
the Fortune (by Philip Henslowe, 1600).
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7. 4. The structure of theatres
The playhouses:
were round or octagonal in shape;
were 12 metres high.
The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playing company, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named ‘Shakespeare’s Globe’, opened in It is on London South Bankside.
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8. 4. The structure of theatres
The playhouses:
had a diameter of 25 metres;
had a rectangular stage, the apron stage;
had no curtain.
A reconstruction of the Globe Theatre.
Folger Shakespeare Library.
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9. 5. Internal layout The same basic structure consisted of:
a stage partially covered by a thatched roof, or ‘shadow’, supported by two pillars and projected into a yard or pit.
Globe Theatre Stage, 1997.
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10. 5. Internal layout The structure included:
three tiers of roofed galleries around the stage with the actors’ tiring house at the back;
a trap door in the front of the stage used for apparitions or disappearances;
an inner stage used for discoveries or concealments.
The interior drawing of “The Swan” by Johannes de Witt, circa The Swan Theatre was built by Francis Langley about 1594, south of the Thames. The Swan was one of the largest and most distinguished of all the playhouses in London.
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11. 6. The audience The ‘box-offices’ offered a wide range of prices:
a penny (=1/12 of a London worker’s weekly salary) granted entrance to the pit (standing room around the stage);
six pence granted access to seated places in the covered galleries. Only city merchants and the nobility could afford the price.
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12. 6. The audience The spectators ate and drank during the performance.
They freely expressed their emotions with laughter or tears.
They relished language and long speeches.
Geoffrey Rush in Shakespeare in Love, directed by John Madden, 1998.
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13. 6. The audience
They were eager for sensation and overwhelming emotion.
They loved metaphor and extremes.
They enjoyed thrills and horror.
They loved chronicles and history plays with heroic deeds (strong national feeling).
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14. 7. The actors
Actors had to join a company of a prominent figure and bear his livery and arms (The Chamberlain’s Men of Elizabeth I and the King’s Men of James I).
An actor’s shareholding depended on the sum he invested to buy props and costumes of which he was joint owner.
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15. 7. The actors They had to vary their repertoire.
They had no more than two weeks to prepare a new play.
They often found themselves playing several roles in the same performance.
They needed an excellent memory.
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16. 8. Female roles
Companies included 5-6 boys to play female roles until their voices broke.
They learnt singing, dancing, diction and feminine gestures and intonation from a very young age.
Contemporary audiences found them very convincing.
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17. Professional jester dressed in motley, cap and bells.
9. The clown and the fool
The clown
The fool
Rough peasant whose language counterbalanced other characters’ heroic or romantic language.
Professional jester dressed in motley, cap and bells.
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18. 10. The sources The Italian Commedia dell’Arte.
The works of Niccolò Machiavelli with their display
of horrors, unnatural crimes, vice and corruption.
Greek tragedies and the Latin philosopher and tragedian Seneca division of the play into five acts,
a taste for blood and revenge.
Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy the play within the play.
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