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Elizabethan
Age
Theatre
1558-1603
Origins of Elizabethan Age
 Named for Queen Elizabeth I of England
 QE was a strong supporter of the arts
(literature, visual art, theater, music)
 Artists were supported by the nobles
Playhouses
 Playhouses were first located in London’s
city limits
 James Burbage built the first playhouse:
The Theater (1576)
 Puritans and Politicians were against
playhouses because of the content and
the crowds they drew
Playhouses (continued)
 1597 – timber from The Theater was
ferried across the Thames River to
Southwark and used to build The Globe
 No advertising of the plays in the city –
managers used flags
 Black – tragedy
 White – comedy
 Red - history
Playhouses (continued)
 Playhouses held 1500 – 3000 spectators
 Spectators were ferried across the river
 Admission cost – 1 penny to stand in the
(mosh) “pits” or more to sit in the tiers
 1648 – Puritans order that all playhouses
be torn down
 1660 – Playhouses reopen
Drama
 Only men were allowed to perform
 The parts of women were played by
young boys
 Audiences cheered – talked to the actors
– threw things at the actors
 Plays were performed in the afternoon
 Realistic costumes and special
Drama (continued)
 Stage was round so that the actors could
directly address the audience through
soliloquies and asides
 Heavens, trapdoors, inner and outer
stage areas
 Natural lighting (daytime performances)