Historical Context

What was life like in Elizabethan England?

REFERENCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036lgmn/clips - BBC Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England  and further research: http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/

When Elizabeth I became queen in 1558, there were about 2.8 million people in England. During her reign, the population grew significantly to about 4.1 million people. While many people lived in the countryside, a lot of people resided in or migrated to London, which was the richest and most rapidly growing city of the time, housing royalty and wealth. It was a more attractive place to live.  Besides, life in the rural countryside was not pleasant in comparison to the blossoming prosperous cities.  In the countryside, peasants resided in small, dark thatched cottages where 7 or 8 people were cramped inside. There was no colour or light, and it usually consisted of one room with an earth floor, a permanently lit fire and as a result, smoke filling the whole room. To prevent suffocation, a hole was put in the roof. The windows were singularly glazed and only shutters were used, and this let in the cold. Candlelight was the obvious answer in the Elizabeth era, and although their menial expense today, at the time they were relatively dear and as a result the poor peasantry couldn't afford to light their menial homes. Furthermore, peasants wouldn't necessarily have a lot of possessions except necessities, sleeping on the floor or thin, straw mattresses. A text called 'The City of Norwich, Orders for The Poor' written in 1571 brands the experience of the peasantry in these cottages: "The cold struck so deep in them, their flesh was eaten with vermin and corrupt diseases grew on them". It was no wonder that they wanted to migrate to London. 

Moreover, life for the poor in rural areas was particularly difficult because class disparity was so prevalent. There was a lack of social mobility for these classes and Elizabethan society was strictly divided into the class that you were born in. For example, most countrymen at the time fell into one of three classes; the yeoman, who owns or rents farm and employs workers, a Husbandman who rents the land he works on  and labourers, who work on the farms - most peasants worked in this field.  There was also the Monarch, the highest class, the nobility, the gentry, the merchant, yeoman and finally the labourers, the lowest class. Working days were hard for labourers and involved drudgery, with long monotonous hours from the crack of dawn to sunset. 'The Groat' was a thin coin roughly the same size as a modern 20p, and was part of society since Medieval times. It was also referred to as fourpence, and was given as a sum to labourers at the time. A labourer typically earned fourpence a day.  Although this could get labouring families just by with enough food, it left nothing for firewood, clothing, child care or rent. As a result, these wages were futile for struggling families. Ordinary customs like getting married and having children weren't easily accessible for the poor as a result, and this emphasises the strict and hostile class divisions that were in place in the Elizabethan era. 

In stark contrast,  Elizabethan London was a hustling and bustling centre of international trade, government, the gentry and royalty, with opportunities to make money and prosper.  In particular, the city's population increased from 70,000 to 200,000 under Queen Elizabeth's reign because as mentioned before, the city was affected continuously by heavy migration. There were many numerous attractions, such as The Tower of London, where you could see exotic animals or tourguides as a tourist. But tourism costed 12 weeks wages for the average labourer - this emphasises the extravagance of London as a city, and how expensive it was even just to visit there. London Bridge again was the home of wealthy merchants, shops and public toilets, substantiated by heavy fortifications.  In 1599, the Swiss tourist Thomas Platter remarked that "London is not in England, but England is in London". This undoubtedly echoes the sentiment around overcrowding in London at this time, which despite its wealth, was a poignant issue for increasing population.  Queen Elizabeth  particularly abhorred expansion and stated that no new building could occur outside the city walls. Subsequently, houses were cramped and closely packed tog ether, and because of the lack of space, house prices accelerated in price. There was high unemployment due to mass migration. Nevertheless, popular jobs did include; a bottler, who stored and dispensed wines, a chaplain, responsible for the religious activities of a castle servant, apothecary which gave remedies/drugs, a cordwainer/shoemaker/cobbler or a spinster, exclusively for women where she earned her living spinning yarn. Moreover,  sanitary was awful, sewage could be smelt everywhere and there was bad tensions, particularly surrounding the stigma around the threat of The Plague, which killed 170,000 people in 1563. Outbreaks occurred across England, and the epitome of The Plague was unfortunately in London, where rats, mice and fleas roamed free.  Poorer areas, like slums, were most badly affected. Unfortunately, medicine at this time wasn't advanced and theories surrounding The Plague only assumed supposed cures that in reality did no good. What's more, physicians wouldn't even go near victims of The Plague which only accelerated the way in which the disease spread, killing a  third of the population. Instead, victims were quarantined for a minimum of 6 weeks. No matter how rich or ambitious, the Plague was the only common ground that the richer classes sought with the poorer ones as they were equally susceptible, both actually having bad living conditions and bad knowledge of diet. 

Elizabethan medicine around this time consisted of basic medicine. Physicians were unqualified most of the time, basing their hypothesis on ancient teachings of Aristotle and Hippocrates. In particular, physicians were interested in a patients bodily fluids, called Humours, which explained why patients were subjected to 'bleeding'. Other Elizabethan physicians commonly believed in astrology to base their hypothesis. The Elizabethan medical profession could only offer a herb concoction or an offer to bled the patient of The Plague. Furthermore, your class often dictated what sort of physician you would gain - only the most wealthy could receive the advice of an Elizabethian physician trained in a  university, as this cost a gold coin worth 10 shillings.  Because this was quite unaccessible, many people indulged in Elizabethan apothecary, which dispensed drugs. There was a local 'wise woman' who was often the first person contacted by poor people. Other terrible diseases like the Bubonic Plague consisted of Typhoid, Syphilis, Anaemia, Rheumatism, Arthritis, Tuberculosis and Dysentry.  Upper classes also suffered from gout and influenza was, too, common referred to as 'the sweating sickness'. Moreover, broken bones, wounds, abscesses and fractures were treated in unsanitary environments making the condition worse. In cases where amputations were needed, they were performed by surgeons. 

The landed gentry can be regarded as the richest and most powerful people in Elizabethan England. They are the middle class, who control the people around them, owning and running the whole country. From the ranks of the gentry, the magistrates, sheriffs, officials  and other positions in Parliament reside, filling the House of Commons. While they had a lot at their disposal, comfortably well off, they also were under increasing suspicion by Queen Elizabeth I, who was paranoid and wanted absolute loyalty from her subjects. Treason and assassination was seen as the highest possible crime in the Elizabethan era, which is prevalent in Shakespeare's Macbeth and almost is a commentary on the stigma behind this crime, and the Queen had an extensive spy network designed to uncover her opposition and enemies.  For example, Mary Queen of Scots was executed due to this. The rich and powerful could also definitely indulge in culture, such as art or entertainment. Because the lives of the Elizabethans were hard, with the high mortality rate (infant mortality was particularly high, shown in Shakespeare's plays like Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado), disease and low life expectancy, Elizabethan entertainment was at the forefront for all. Going to the theatre was the most popular activity for the masses, simply because it was so accessible for all classes. There were many days devoted to feasting, such as Mad Day, Midsummer Day and Ascension Day when people would drink and make merry. Dance was exceedingly popular and games like chess, checkers and tennis were popular. In The Tempest, Miranda plays chess to reflect this common obsession in Elizabethan society. The upper classes engage  in tournaments of fencing and hunting for sport. All classes, however, also seemed to gain pleasure from bear baiting, which was Queen Elizabeth's favourite pastime to the extent where the theatre was banned on Thursdays.  In Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', he alludes to bear baiting - "But bear like, I must fight the course". Moreover, drinking beer and ale was considered a good pastime.  Otherwise, Elizabethan's are known for travelling a lot, irrespective of wealth. In the 1570s, a secondhand coach cost around £80, with horses as an additional £10.  

Something embodied in Elizabethan culture was religion. The two major religions at this time were Catholicism and Protestant religions. The convictions and beliefs in these religions were so strong that they led to the executions of those who dissented from general belief. The reigning monarchs dictated the favouring religion - Queen Elizabeth adhered to the Protestant religion, therefore this was taught in schools nationally. Nevertheless, she did believe that people could practice the Catholic religion if it wasn't detrimental to her rule. Having said this, there were many Catholic plots versus Queen Elizabeth I, such as the attempt to replace the Queen with her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, which led to her execution. There was laws that fined those who didn't attend church, and this kept the Church of England firmly in place. Some Elizabethans believed the Protestant reformation, some where staunchly Catholic, some were ambivalent and others practiced Puritanism which was a stricter form of Christianity. As a result, Shakespeare often referenced religion and its effects on culture and politics in his plays - the character of Malvolio in Twelfth Night satirises the strict Puritan lifestyle, for example. While Shakespeare's audiences would have been familiar with the Bible and Christianity, Shakespeare had to remain neutral with his own religious beliefs therefore they are not know. His plays do give a clear insight into the religious climate in Elizabethan England however. 

Superstition was also very commonplace in Elizabethan society. Most superstition arose due to the fear of witchcraft, where most women were accused of being witches. There were 270 Elizabethan witch trials where 247 were women and 23 were men. With the fear around the Bubonic Plague and unexplained disease, and no medicinal knowledge, many blamed witches. Similarly, failed crop harvests, the death of animals and unexplained fires were also scapegoated to witches.  Mostly, the women accused were old, poor, unprotected single women or 'widows'. Many believed that witches could fly, a witch was an old hag, lived alone, known to keep animals like cats or frogs, and brewed magic potions over a cauldron. Some more Elizabethan superstitions, some of which are still known today led to; people saying 'God Bless You' after a sneeze, as Elizabethans believed that the devil could enter your body if not, an eclipse being seen as an omen of evil, unlucky for a black cat to cross your path, unlucky to keep the feather of a peacock, touch wood to guard against bad luck, bad luck to walk under ladders, and bad luck to put shoes on a table. 

 Perhaps women being regarded as witches was a product of the largely engrained patriarchal Elizabethan society. The roles of women were limited, and of course men were breadwinners. On average, a woman gave birth to a child every two years, and this was seen as a blessing from God and something to be proud of. Having said this, infant mortality was very high.  As well as this, women weren't able to enter professions like law, medicine or politics but they could work in domestic services as cooks or maids.  Prominently, acting was seen as certainly dishonourable for women to engage in and it wasn't till the seventeenth century that women appeared on the stage. Despite these limitations, The Renaissance brought a slightly new way of thinking - noble middle class women were given an impressive education in the classics, mathematics and other academia. Elizabeth being on the throne encouraged noble men to educate their daughters. The women that suffered most in this period consisted of those who didn't wish to marry, even though the Queen herself was unmarried. Marriage was seen as the most desirable state for both men and women, and single women, as mentioned previously, were accused to be witches. Following The Reformation, women couldn't easily become nuns and live in convents, because convents were closed - the only feasible career option for poor women was to work in domestic service. As a result, the pressure around marriage was immense. 

Elizabethan Era Context Notes 

REFERENCE: The Globe Education Website  and Biography.Com 

Who was William Shakespeare?

• Shakespeare is the world's most famous playwright, considered the greatest dramatist of all time and England's national poet. Despite his great array of 37 plays and a vast amount of sonnets, his personal life is shrouded in mystery.
• William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford Upon Avon, a market town in the Midlands. Only 1,000 people lived there. 
• Shakespeare was born to prosperous parents as the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant and Mary Arden who was a local landed heiress. Before Shakespeare's birth, records indicate that his father held official positions such as alderman and bailiff, an office resembling a mayor, despite this, it is believed that John's fortunes decline sometime in the late 1570s.
• However, in spite of his somewhat wealthy background, his life involving family wasn't easy. He was the third of eight children and grew up the oldest, his two older sisters dying very young. In fact, Shakespeare was lucky not to be a victim of the plague which was widespread during his lifetime, killing 1 in 5 of the population in Stratford.
•  From the age of seven, boys like William attended grammar school - scholars surmise that he most likely attended the King's New School in Stratford which taught reading, writing, Latin and the  classics.   They also had to memorise and perform historical stories, useful skills for an actor and writer. Shakespeare probably left school aged fifteen. 
• On November 28th, 1582, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in Worcester, Canterbury. They gave birth to the first child, a daughter called Susanna on May 26th, 1583 while two years later they gave birth to two twins. One of them later died at age 11. 
• After 1585, there are seven years where no records exist after the births of his twins. Scholars brand these years the 'lost years' and there is wide speculation on what he was doing during this period - his life was quite a mystery.
• From 1590 to 1613, Shakespeare lived mainly in London and had become a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company which he connected for most of his career. Considered the most important troupe of its time, the company changed its name to the King\s Men following the crowning of King James I, in 1603.
• He also established himself as a playwright, with his play Henry VI performed at the Rose Theatre in 1592. Over the course of two decades, he wrote a total of 37 plays which revolved around histories, tragedies, comedies and tragicomedies.  Most of his early plays were histories (Henry VI, Richard II, Henry V)  and comedies (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It) but in the later period he diverted more so towards writing tragic plays (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth). These tragedies presented vivid impressions of human temperament, exposing human nature.  In his final period, he wrote several tragicomedies (Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest) embodying somewhat of a graver tone than the comedies but ending in reconciliation. 
• Shakespeare's early plays were written in the conventional style of the day, with metaphors and rhetoric. Nevertheless, Shakespeare was innovative and adapted the traditional conventional style to his own purposes and creating a freer flow of words. He primarily used a metrical pattern of iambic pentameter or blank verse to compose plays, but he also used poetry and simple prose.
  
•  From 1599, he was part owner of The Globe Theatre where his plays were performed. In 1605, Shakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for 440 pounds, which doubled in value and earned him 60 pounds a year. He became a businessman as well as an artist, and it is believed this gave him precedence to keep on his job as a freelance writer despite the reputation around playwrights.

 

After 1613, Shakespeare spent more time in Stratford. In January 1616, he made a will and died on the 23rd of April 1616. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford Upon Avon.        

London At The Time of Shakespeare's Work

• London was the bigger and richer city in England. It was the home of most permanent playhouses. Wealthy traders, businessmen and manufacturers resided there. They had the money to go to the theatre, or to put in leases for playhouses to be built.
• By 1600, London's theatre goers numbered 20,000 per week. 
• London was also home to royalty and nobility, where rich noblemen became patrons of theatre companies, giving financial/legal support.
• From 1603-1613, Shakespeare's company played at the court of King James about 15 times a year. 
• London was a rapidly growing city with many migrants from across Europe and the country. 
• Between 1550 and 1600, it is estimated the city grew from around 50,000 residents to over 200,000. Despite this, it was relatively overcrowded. The pollution was bad, and te dark conditions attracted thieves and brought disease, such as the plague. The Plague struck most summers, in 1593 about 10,000 people were killed and all the theatres were closed.  
• The city's landmarks include St Pauls Cathedral was the biggest of London's 120 churches. Crowds gathered here to socialise or do business - this attracted pickpockets and prostitution. Outside the cathedral, there was a market and it was London's centre for bookselling. The Tower of London was London's old medieval fortress. By 1600 it housed rooms for the royal family, a treasury, a prison, a weapons store, a zoo and the royal mint, where nearly all England's coins were made. London Bridge at the time was the only bridge in London. It joined the city of London, on the north bank of the Thames with Southwark on the south bank (this is where The Globe Theatre was). 
  
• Shakespeare lived and worked in London from about 1590 to about 1613. It is believed he lived in the London parish of St Helens in the mid 1590s. This was north of London Bridge and close to The Theatre and The Curtain playhouses. He was twice assessed for taxes there and failed to pay both times. 
• From about 1598-1602, Shakespeare lived in the Paris Gardens area of Bankside south of the river near the Globe, where he worked.
• From 1602, Shakespeare rented lodgings in the Silver Street house of the Mountjoys, a family of French immigrants who made extravagant costly hats.                                                              

What Was The Theatrical Landscape Like In Shakespeare's Time?

Writing Plays

• A modern historian estimates that between 1560 and 1640, some 3000 new plays were written and performed in London. 
• William Shakespeare was become the most famous playwright in the world originating from this time, but the best known of other famous playwrights are Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, Thomas Middleton and Thomas Kyd.
• The grammar schools that most middle class boys attended taught useful skills for playwrights of the time as they were taught to memorise the history and myths of Ancient Greece and Rome - they wrote their own stories and recited these to classmates. Many playwrights also went to university,  like Marlowe, but some playwrights also went straight into acting, like Shakespeare and Jonson. 
• Originality was not at the forefront for playwrights of this era - the norm was to rework and invigorate old stories/use other people's plots. Shakespeare's 'The Taming of The Shrew', for example is a re-write of an earlier play, whereas 'The Comedy of Errors' is based on an ancient Roman plot. 
• Plays were divided into three categories - histories, tragedies and comedies. 
• Histories told of England's past. Marlowe wrote Edward II, while Shakespeare wrote plays about King John, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III and Henry VIII. 
• Tragedies usually ended in deaths, for example Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Hamlet written by Shakespeare, while John Webster had a big hit with The Duchess of Malfi. Blood and gore were integrated by the playwrights to entertain the crowds.
• Comedies were generally lighthearted and had a 'happy ending', usually a wedding.  Some comedies were satirical. Ben Jonson wrote The Alchemist which satirised London society.
• Playwrights weren't generally wealthy - they got no royalties or repeat fees if plays were performed more than once, but instead generally a one off fee for selling their play to an acting company. Others had to share the money because it was common for playwrights to write in paies on in groups. 
• Philip Henslowe was a theatre owner who hired four writers called Chettle, Wilson, Dekker and Drayton. He paid them in instalments and they often worked on multiple projects simultaneously at his disposal. The fee for a play was worth having, in the 1590s it was £5 which equated to a year's income for an average craftsman or shopkeeper at that time. 
• Censorship was prevalent. The Master Of The Revels was a genuine job, an official of the royal court who had to grant licenses to theatres, companies and plays. He would not license a play if it had subversive political or religious views. Playwrights therefore, had to tailor their plays carefully so they weren't too offensive and weren't at risk of censorship. As a result, playwrights commonly set their plays in imaginary or distant countries to avoid risk of seeming critical of the home government.

Actors

• During Shakespeare's lifetime, the life of an actor changed dramatically. Actors primarily toured in companies nationally, but by the end of Shakespeare's lifetime, London had several permanent theatres, drawing in middle class theatre goers. 
• The acting profession had a bad reputation and actors were seen as a threat to peaceful society.
• In Shakespeare's time, only boys and men could act, until 1600 when women were allowed to act in public theatres. Therefore, in an Elizabethan production men would play female parts.
• Generally, actors started their careers as young boys, gaining apprenticeships and then gaining greater positions as senior actors within the company. They had to be able to sword fight, sing and dance.
• Company sizes varied, depending on region and wealth. A wealthy company when working in a theatre could have 8-12 senior members called sharers, 3-4 boys, a number of hired players and then stage hands, tiremen and some musicians. Actors would join a company under the patronage of a monarch, like The Queen's Men or a noblemen such as The Lord Chamberlain's Men.
• Most companies were based in London using permanent theatres. When plague was prevalent, the theatres would close and companies would tour. Mostly they toured England but some exclusive companies travelled abroad, like to The Netherlands or Germany.
• Many actor companies held a shareholder system where sharers in a company earned more than the hired men. Shakespeare, for example, was a sharer of The Chamberlain's Men, and so shared the profit the company would make. Generally, actors earnings were also dependent on where the company was playing. The company made more money in London than in the country so actors wages were higher. 
• Actors normally performed in the afternoon because they only relied on natural light. Plays were performed in repetory therefore the same play was never performed two days in a row. Actors would spend mornings rehearsing and then the afternoon performing. Often they were juggling several plays and characters at a time.
  
• Actors learnt their parts by having their own part written out to learn, because there wasn't multiple copies of the play. An actor's part only contained their cues and lines. 
• Some famous Elizabethan actors include Richard Burbage, Edward Alleyn and Robert Armin. 
• Often, playwrights wrote plays for specific actors, for example Dogberry was written for William Kemp who was good at physical comedy, whereas the fool in King Lear was written for Robert Armin who was good at witty comedy as opposed to slapstick.

Playhouses

• There were two types of playhouses in Shakespeare's time: the outdoor amphitheatres (public playhouses) and the indoor playhouse (halls or private playhouses). These attracted different types of audiences.
• The first playhouse, The Red Lion was built in 1567 by John Brayne. He converted The Red Lion Inn in Stepney, outside the city walls.  
• More playhouses opened between the 1570s and the 1620s following this, including the second playhouse to be built in 1576 called The Theatre, built by Brayne and James Burbage. Burbage was an actor with the Earl of Leicester's Men, who played in The Theatre for its first two years.
• Newington Butts theatre was built in the south in the same year, and in 1577 the Curtain was built near the Theatre. After this, five more theatres were built and companies also performed regularly in the yards of several London inns. 
• Playhouses drew big audiences but weren't popular with everyone. The officials who ran the City of London saw playhouses as raucous and disruptive, attracting thieves and other 'undesirable' people. People subsequently built playhouses on sites outside the control of citty officials, generally outside the city wall.
• The south bank of the River Thames was outside the city and had animal baiting arenas, brothels and taverns where people could buy food and drink, so people already went there for entertainment. 
• Outdoor playhouses had an open yard open to the sky, a raised stage sticking out into the yard, a roof over the stage known as 'the heavens', a tiring house with a backstage area where actors dressed and galleried seating all around the yard.
• Playhouses were often built by businessmen seeking profit who saw the prospects of rising interest and therefore prosperity to be found in touring acting companies who played in yards and open spaces around the country. They had money to spare, in contrast to the acting companies therefore a businessman would lease some land, build a playhouse and lease it to acting companies for a set number of years. The company paid the playhouse owner a share of the takings, usually half of the income from galleries. 
• Playhouses had a brick base with timber framed walls. The gaps between the timber were filled with sticks, hair and plaster. The roofs were made from thatch or tile. 

The Globe Theatre

• Many of Shakespeare's first plays were performed at The Globe, although his plays were performed at other theatres and many playwrights wrote for The Globe. 
• Initially, the first Globe was built by The Lord Chamberlain's Men which Shakespeare was a part of. Richard Burbage was the company's leading actor. They had played at the Theatre built by the Burbage family, but when this fell through, they leased new land on the south bank of the River Thames, near the Rose Theatre.
• The builder who stored the timbers of the Theatre was Peter Streete. Once the weather was better, Streete took the timber across the thames, to Southwark and used them to build the Globe Theatre.
• Southwark was a convenient place for the new theatre, outside the control of hostile city officials. 
• Streete and his workmen built a brick base for the theatre. The walls were made from timber frames, filled with smaller slats of wood covered with plaster that had cow hair in it. Because the owners were struggling for money, they used the cheapest options in the building process, therefore the roof was thatched with reeds and not covered with better quality tile. 
  
• In 1599, the theatre opened and was a huge success. The first Shakespeare play to be perfored was Julius Caesar in the same year. Other playwrights that wrote for the Globe include Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker and John Fletcher. 
• On the 29th June 1613, The Globe burnt down due to a fire caused by a performance of Henry VIII where small cannons were fired. They used gunpowder held down by wadding, but as a result a piece of burning wadding set fire to the thatch. In an hour, the theatre burnt down and was huge news. 
• The company built a second Globe on the brick foundations of the first. It was the same size and shape, but was more extravagantly decorated. The company could now afford to use a tiled roof.

Indoor Theatres 

• Indoor theatres grew out of temporary theatres in existing buildings set up for private performances, but they were open to the public and charged an entry fee. The first permanent indoor theatre (St Pauls) was built in 1575.
• Indoor theatres were different to outdoor playhouses through; being smaller, holding a more intimate audience, built inside an existing building, not open to the sky, more expensive compared to open yard standing and lit by candles/ daylight through windows.
• Until 1609, the indoor theatres were used by boy companies. Adult companies played at the outdoor playhouses. The boy companies grew out of choir schools and other schools that performed privately. They were made up of boys of any age between seven and their early twenties. They usually played once a week. 
• The audiences in these theatres were thought to more educated and wealthy as opposed to audiences in outdoor theatres. Scholars used to think that indoor theatres held more music, more intricate props and more speeches as opposed to action. Plays written for the boy companies, such as Cynthia's Revels by Ben Jonson certainly did. When The King's Men, Shakespeare's adult company used both The Globe and the Blackfriars, they played some popular plays in both theatres.
• Whether a play would be put on inside an indoor theatre or outdoor theatre was generally practically reasoned. Indoor theatres had a smaller stage, and generally stools could be put on the stage were rich 'gallants' sat to be seen. Actors therefore had far less space to act, on the other hand the smaller, intimate space enhanced a play's magical effects.  Shakespeare wrote The Tempest with The Blackfriars theatre in mind, as well as A Winter's Tale and Cymbeline. 
• The candles meant that there had to be small intervals for people to trim the candles and replace the burnt out ones. 
  

Audiences

• Between 10,000 and 20,000 people visited London theatres a week. 
• Theatres were extremely popular, one visitor in 1617 described the crowd around the stage as a 'gang of porters and carters'. Servants and apprentices spent their time there, as well as wealthier people.
• In 1607, the Venetian ambassador bought all the most expensive seats for a performance of Shakespeare's Pericles. 
• Royalty indulged in the theatre too, not attending public theatres but instead summoning actors to perform at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I.
• In open air theatres, the cheapest price was only 1 penny which bought a place amongst the 'groundlings' standing in the 'yard' around the stage 
• For another penny, you could have a bench seat in the lower galleries surrounding the yard. For another penny more, you could seat comfortably on a cushion. The most expensive seats were in 'The Lords Rooms'. The low cost made the theatre accessible and popular.
• Admission to the indoor theatres started at 7 pence. 
• The groundlings were very close to the action on stage. They could buy food and drink during the performances. There were no toilets and the floor they stood on was probably sand, ash or covered in nutshells. Some visitors complained that the pit smelled of garlic and beer and no good citizen would show their face there. Paying more therefore got the wealthy a seat under cover. 
• Some audiences went to the theatre to prove status, to be seen and admired. These people weren't necessarily well behaved. Most didn't sit in silence, but would clap and boo, or cheer the special effects. Pickpockets often operated in the audience and in 1612, magistrates banned music at the end of the plays, saying the crowd caused 'tumults and outrages' with their dances.
• Theatres had to compete for audiences against other London entertainment, including cock fighting and bear baiting enjoyed by all classes.
• In 1591, theatres were banned in London from performing on a Thursday because 'the players do recite their plays to the hurt of bear baiting, for her Majesty's pleasure'.
• With large audiences, plays only had short runs and then had to be replaced. Between 1560 and 1640, about 3,000 new plays were written. 
• To attract crowds, plays often told re-written famous stories from the past using violence, music and humour. This was vital because audiences were very vocal about what they liked and didn't like. At the Swan in 1602, the audience damaged the chairs, stools, curtains and walls. In 1629, a French company were hissed and pippin-pelted from the stage, due to the fact that the company used women actors. 
• Since the audience were so involved in the performance of a play, they were also vital to the play's success.

Costumes and Cosmetics

• Clothes reflected a person's status in society and there were laws controlling what you could wear in Shakespeare's time. As plays had kings, queens and wealthy people in them, the actors' costumes reflected status. 
• Costumes were mainly the modern dress of the time. For far less important roles, actors would wear their own clothes. However, for a play set in ancient Greece/Rome, they gave main role actors togas to wear over their normal clothes.
• The company reused costumes if possible - changing a cloak, or putting on expensive lace. Sometimes they had to have a new costume made. A company probably spent about £300 a year on costumes, which in today's money is over £35,000.
• Men that played women wore wigs, which by colour and style, showed the age and status of their character. 
• The company usually owned some costumes and reused them as often as possible. Actors left eachother clothes in their wills.
• Stage makeup helped the audience understand the character. Actors playing 'Moors' wore makeup/blackface that made them seem dark skinned. Pale skinned, fair women were said to be the most beautiful of the time. A white face, red cheeks and a blonde wig turned the boy actor into a beautiful young woman. Crushed pearl or silver could be added to make up to produce a shimmering effect. This was effective in make up for actors performing indoors by candlelight or for fairies. When two characters wore the same makeup and wigs, you knew they were twins. 

Special Effects

• Playwrights in Shakespeare's time used language to describe special effects much of the time, but acting companies could also produce very dramatic special effects. Thunder and lightning filled the theatre for storms. There were a variety of effects to suggest magic at work. Many special effects needed special ingredients. Buying these made a performance more expensive, so special effects weren't always used.
• The easiest way to make the sound of thunder, for example, was to beat drums offstage or to roll a cannonball across the floor of the Heavens off the stage.  Some companies even used a thunder machine - a wooden box balanced like a see-saw. A cannon ball could be rolled fro one end to the other to make a thundering noise.
• Storms needed lightning too. Lightning flashes were made by throwing powder made from resin into a candle flame. The companies could make lightning bolts also by using machinery called a swevel. They fixed a wire from the roof to the floor of the stage. They fixed a firecracker to the wire and lit in when they wanted the effect. This created massive sparks.
• Special effects could go wrong, most prominently when The Globe actually burnt down. It didn't happen very often though, but some special effects ingredients made awful smelling scents.  
• In terms of magic, magical spirits, devils and gods and goddesses often appear in plays from Shakespeare's time. Good spirits and gods and goddesses usually entered through a trapdoor in the Heavens. The actors were lowered on a rope or a wire, which was called 'flying in'. Evil spirits and devils came up from Hell, under the stage through a trapdoor. Companies often set off firecrackers when devils appeared or magic was used. In one production or Dr Faustus, actors playing devils even put firecrackers in their mouths to suggest they were breathing fire.
• Theatre companies used smoke mostly as a magic effect, although sometimes it could also suggest a fire. They could make black and white, yellow and red smoke depending on the chemicals they mixed together.