Download Drama in Britain grew out of church services at

Victoria and Albert Museum
A history of a night at the theatre
Before 1500
Drama in Britain grew out of church services at Easter from the 10th century onwards. By the
14th century mystery cycles of plays based on the Bible were performed outside the church by
members of craft guilds in cities such as York and Chester. Each play was staged on pageant
wagons that processed through the streets and stopped to perform at pre-arranged sites. In some
towns, however, plays were acted in a set space or ‘place’ surrounded by fixed stages or
‘scaffolds’. By the end of medieval times, many towns had specific public theatre spaces.
1500s
Detail from a painting of Queen Elizabeth at the Globe, David Scott, 1840. Museum no: S.5111985
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries all classes of society (apart from royalty) visited the
public theatres. Inn yards with enclosed courtyards were often used as performance spaces, and
some were converted into permanent playhouses, such as the Red Bull.
From 1576 indoor as well as purpose-built outdoor theatres started to appear in London. The
most famous outdoor theatre was the Globe, built in 1599 by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men,
whose resident playwright was William Shakespeare. Admission prices ranged from a penny to
stand in the yard by the stage to up to sixpence for the most expensive seats.
This 19th-century painting shows Elizabeth I watching a play at the Globe Theatre in around
1600. In reality, Elizabeth never visited a public playhouse. When she wished to see a play, the
players would perform for her at one of her Royal residences. The more affluent members of the
audience sat in the tiers of covered galleries or on the stage itself (for which they paid extra). The
area around the thrust stage, called the yard, or pit, was standing room only; and here the
'groundlings' or 'penny stinkards' could stand and watch a play for a penny.
1600s
British theatres were closed by Parliament in 1642, and did not officially reopen until King
Charles II returned to the throne in 1660. Actresses were introduced to the public stage for the
first time, and moveable scenery arranged in perspective. Audiences went to the new indoor
theatres, initially in converted tennis courts, to meet their friends, show off their clothes, flirt and
catch up on the latest gossip. For a few extra pennies they could even sit on the stage.
'La Princesse d'Elide' at Versailles, Israel Silvestre, 1664
The most lavish 17th-century productions were not open to the public at all. King James I and his
son Charles I both commissioned spectacular private performances called masques which
involved music, dance, gorgeous costumes and extraordinary scenery and special effects.
They were performed once or twice at one of the Royal palaces and were only seen by members
of the court. Such grand court entertainments were fashionable throughout Europe as an
expression of princely power.
The ballet 'La Princesse d'Elide' was part of a seven-day fete held in May 1664 at the Palace of
Versailles. The festivities celebrated the birth of a son to Louise de La Valliere, mistress of the
French king, Louis XIV.
Versailles had no theatre, so temporary stages were set up around the palace and in the gardens.
Here the stage has been set up in the grounds with the palace itself visible in the background.
Such lavish celebrations helped impress foreign dignitaries and reinforced Louis' image as
absolute ruler. Louis and his courtiers often took part and Louis' nickname, The Sun King, came
from his performance as Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, in the 'Ballet de la Nuit' in 1653. In
some ways Louis' whole life was a performance, played out on the stage of Versailles: people
even watched him get up in a morning and go to bed.
1700s
In order to gain admittance to a popular play in an 18th-century London theatre, it was necessary
to arrive at least an hour before the house opened. There were no decorous queues in those days,
and no individual numbered seats, so the rush, especially for the cheap bench seats in the pit
sometimes resulted in fights and serious injury. Even the more expensive sections were crammed
on a good night.
In 1763 Garrick banned audience members from sitting on the stage at Drury Lane and other
theatres followed suit. The seating capacity of theatres grew and by 1794 the rebuilt Drury Lane
held over 3000. The cheapest seats were in the topmost gallery, known as the ‘gods’, followed
by the pit, closest to the stage. More wealthy members of the audience sat in boxes that encircled
the pit.
Before the introduction of gaslight in the 19th century, theatres were illuminated by candles and
oil lamps and the auditorium was as brightly lit as the stage. This fostered an intimacy between
actor and audience, but also encouraged people to chat instead of concentrating on the play.
Theatrical entertainments were also a feature of fairs such as Bartholomew Fair.
Lithograph depicting the riot during 'Aterxes', 1763
18th-century audiences were lively. There are occasional reports of riots among the cheap seats
(the 'footman's gallery').
Traditionally people could come for half price toward the end of the evening, to see the short
after-pieces that followed the main play. In 1763 the management of Covent Garden Theatre
announced on the playbills for 'Aterxes' that only full price tickets would be available. The
response was an organised riot which destroyed the interior of the theatre and forced the
reinstitution of the half price concession.
'Artaxerxes' was Arne's most ambitious opera in the Italian style and was first performed in 1762.
The plot revolved around the complicated events following the assassination of Xerxes, King of
Persia and the revenge of his son, Artaxerxes. The singers are dressed in conventional opera
costume of the period. The men wear generalised 'Eastern' rather than archaeologically correct
costume, while the female singer wears a version of fashionable 18th-century dress. Arne was
more successful writing light operas and incidental music for Shakespeare's plays. He is best
remembered as the composer of 'Rule Britannia', which comes from his opera 'Alfred'.
Box renter's fan, late 18th century
The King's Theatre, Haymarket, originally called the Queen's Theatre after Queen Anne, was
built by Sir John Vanburgh. It opened in 1705. Handel's oratorio 'Esther' was sung for the first
time in England here.
The fan shows how going to the theatre proved your social standing. 'Subscribers' were people
who rented boxes for a season at the theatre and could include society types like Mrs Fitzherbert,
mistress of the Prince of Wales, and other important people like the Duke of Gloucester. To
prove their right to the box they held ivory discs or tokens which (for this important venue) were
obtained from a bank in Pall Mall.
However, things were about to change however. After the theatre was rebuilt following a fire in
1789, a less fashionable season was introduced, where boxes could be purchased by the general
public, and seats in the upper tier cost a guinea per person, making them affordable to many
more people.
1800s
As theatres increasingly catered for popular taste in the first half of the 19th century, the support
of the upper and middle classes declined, although they still attended the opera. Audiences were
often noisy and not always well-behaved. If an actor was disliked, insults and/or missiles such as
apple cores or bottles were thrown.
By the mid 19th century music hall and circus were in favour with working class audiences.
Comic and sentimental songs were popular and the audience joined in the choruses. Acrobats
and aerialists provided variation to the night’s programme and music hall was the first place
where the flying trapeze was seen. Pierrot shows and Punch and Judy booths entertained at the
newly fashionable seaside resorts.
Detail from 'Spectacle Gratis' (free show), G.Engelman, early to mid 19th century
As opera was popular with the upper and middle classes, being appropriately dressed became a
condition of entry. Evening dress was obligatory for those sitting in the boxes and the first
gallery, known as the 'dress circle'. In the late 19th century the orchestra stalls replaced the pit
and became the fashionable place to see and be seen. Although not compulsory, it was
considered bad form not to be smartly dressed when sitting in the stalls.
From the mid 19th century the development of theatres in London’s West End with comfortable
seating and facilities and a more refined repertory attracted the middle classes back to the wider
theatre.
By 1900 most theatres were lit by electricity and the auditorium was darkened during the
performance. The stage was framed by the proscenium arch and separated from the auditorium
by the orchestra pit.
'Spectacle Gratis' demonstrates how boisterous audiences could get whilst crammed into the
seats during performances in the early 19th century. Foreign visitors to the theatre frequently
commented on how noisy the audience were, both before and sometimes during performances.
Drury Lane Theatre, John Bluck, 1808
As well as the disruptive elements, there were those who were paid to go and be supportive. The
author's friends would applaud everything loudly whether the play were good or bad and hack
journalists would be paid to write wonderful reviews, or 'puffs' as they were known.
This image shows the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1808 when it could hold 3,611 people.
These huge theatres affected the acting style as they encouraged loud voices and broad gestures
that registered across the huge auditorium. Under these conditions, spectacle and farce were the
entertainments that worked best.
This collection of objects represents a lady's evening at the theatre at the turn of the 20th century.
Theatre goer's accessories, early 20th century
An Edwardian lady would be expected to wear long evening gloves and would adorn her hair
with accessories such as the pearl pin that is pictured. She would carry a pair of opera glasses to
look at the performers more closely and would need a fan to cool herself in the heat of the
theatre. She might also be given souvenirs of the theatrical event, such as the picture holder and
glass jar shown in this selection.
1900s and beyond
20th-century theatre ranged from serious plays and classics to comedies, musicals, opera, comic
opera, ballet, music hall, variety and revue. Mainstream theatre was dominated by London
productions which toured the provinces.
West End commercialism was challenged by the repertory movement which sprang up to
promote drama with social and moral issues, and also by small companies that championed
alternative theatre.
Subsidised theatre as we know it today began to flourish after World War II with the founding of
the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946. This led in 1963 to the creation of the long-awaited
National Theatre which opened at the Old Vic before moving to the South Bank in 1976-77.
The second half of the 20th century saw much more experimentation with plays and theatre
spaces. World War II changed people’s world view and many writers explored new forms and
content, especially after Samuel Beckett’s 'Waiting for Godot' and John Osborne’s 'Look Back in
Anger' were staged in London in 1955 and 1956 respectively.
The abolition of theatre censorship in 1968 provided another catalyst for a new wave of political
writing that ventilated feminist, gay, lesbian and community theatre issues.
There was a move away from the traditional proscenium arch theatre and companies adopted
different forms of stages such as in-the-round, thrust, traverse and site-specific performances.
Small fringe theatres sprang up in converted warehouses and pubs.
Pantomime audience, Graham Brandon, 1994
Today performances spaces are still evolving and developing, while conventional theatres
continue to present plays and spectacular musicals to modern audiences.
This is a picture of an excited audience at 'Dick Whittington', performed at The Palace Theatre,
Manchester, in 1994. It starred Ken Dodd, a comedian who is well known for 'getting an
audience going'.
'Oh no he's not!'
'Oh yes he is!'
'He's behind you!'
It is generally thought that this kind of audience response and interaction with actors was much
more common in early theatre than it is today. Perhaps the only place where we are likely to see
audiences speak or shout at shows now is at the Christmas pantomime, which was always
expected to be noisy.