Download Architecture of the Elizabethan Theater

Shakespeare’s
Theater
The World of
Elizabethan Theater
HENRY VII—HOUSE OF TUDOR
Arthur
- Catherine of
Aragon
Henry
VIII
Catherine of
Aragon - Mary I
Anne
Boleyn - Elizabeth I
Jane
Seymour - Edward VI
Anne of Cleves
Kathryn Howard
Katherine Parr
Mary
Margaret
- James
IV of
Scotland
James V
Mary,
Queen
of Scotts
James VI Of Scotland
I
of England
- Louis XII
of France
Elizabeth I
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in
Stratford –on-Avon in 1564.
Little is known about his life
before he established himself as an
actor and playwright in London.
He managed to marry and have a
daughter before he left the English
countryside for the big city.
By 1592 Shakespeare had gained a
reputation as both an actor and a
playwright.
In 1594, Shakespeare joined The Lord
Chamberlain’s men, a theatrical
company which enjoyed the patronage
of the royal court.
During his years in London he wrote
about 37 plays including comedies,
tragedies, and histories
He died on April 23, 1616 of a fever contracted after an evening of
entertaining fellow writers, Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton, in his
home.
Elizabethan
Theater
Theatre had an unsavory
reputation. London authorities
refused to allow plays within the
city, so theatres opened across the
Thames in Southwark, outside the
authority of the city
administration.
The first proper theatre as we know it was the Theatre, built at
Shoreditch in 1576. Before this time plays were performed in the
courtyard of inns, or sometimes, in the houses of noblemen. A
noble had to be careful about which play he allowed to be
performed within his home, however. Anything that was
controversial or political was likely to get him in trouble with the
crown!
The Theatre
1576
1575
The Swan
1587
The Globe
1599
The Hope
1613
1615
Architecture of the Elizabethan Theater
There were three basic influences on the architecture of the
Elizabethan stage:
First influence:
ROYAL COURT
Even during the Middle Ages
troubadours, acrobats, and
players lived a nomadic
lifestyle. The most successful
performed regularly in royal
courts in front of those
appreciative members of the
royalty who invited their
presence.
Dais
ROYAL
COURT
Musician’s Gallery
Second Influence:
INNS
Traveling players also performed in Renaissance hotels or inns.
The ideal buildings generally were arranged with an open area
or courtyard in the middle. Performers erected a stage in the
courtyard so that their audience could look down from their
rooms and watch the action.
Third influence: BEAR-BAITING RINGS
Equally distasteful to London authorities were establishments that appealed to the
lower classes, such as bear-baiting rings. These buildings were erected tiers of
seating around an arena, much like the Roman Coliseum. A bear would be
chained to a stake in the middle of the open area. Hungry dogs were loosed on it.
Observers made bets as to which animal would “win.” An early lithograph from
the period shows a bear-beating ring in the same neighborhood as the Globe.
Inside Elizabethan Theaters
The audience was divided into two
divergent groups: those with some means
bought tickets in the tiers. These audience
members probably enjoyed Shakespeare’s
historical and mythological references,
character development, and plot
development. They came not only to see
great plays, but to be seen enjoying one of
Elizabeth’s favorite entertainments.
The poor could purchase a cheap ticket and
stand around the stage. These were called
“groundlings,” those common folk who
enjoyed the courser humor , supernatural,
and violence onstage.
Scenery and Special Effects
There was little scenery in Elizabethan
theater. Furniture, ornate or simple,
provided the little scenic reality
necessary. Little effort was made to
create visual special effects.
The Swan
Because the plays were
staged during the daylight
hours in an open-air theater,
no effort was made to
recreate special lighting
effects. Dialogue became the
only way the audience knew
if a scene was occurring at
night.
Occasionally battle scenes were accompanies by explosions from a
canon contained in the “hut” which sat at the top of the theater. A
spark from such an explosion which caught the Globe’s thatch roof on
fire was blamed for its eventual destruction.
The Globe
A recreation of the original
Globe has been built on the
approximate sight in
London. It is a popular site
of regular productions of
Shakespeare’s plays.
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men
Tradition has it that Shakespeare began as an
actor, then became a shareholder with the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men. His skill at writing
secured his position with this highly successful
acting troupe during the Elizabethan age. The
lead actor of the group was James Burbage,
later Richard Burbage, James’ son.
It was for James, and then Richard, that
Shakespeare wrote most of his lead roles including
Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Oberon,
Petruchio, Falstaff, and so on.
Elizabethan Theater: Actors
Because theater was not considered a
reputable profession, women did not find
a place on the stage. Instead, women’s
roles were performed by older boys.
Shakespeare wrote . . .
COMEDIES:
Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The
Taming of the Shrew, All’s Well That Ends Well ,
Twelfth Night
TRAGEDIES:
Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar,
Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello
HISTORIES:
1, 2, and 3 Henry VI, 1 and 2 Henry IV, King John,
Richard II, Richard III, Henry V, Henry VIII
Significant Shakespearean Plays:
TRAGEDIES
Hamlet
Macbeth
Anthony & Cleopatra
Julius Caesar
Romeo & Juliet
Othello
COMEDIES
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Merchant of Venice
Taming of the Shrew
HISTORIES
Henry IV
Richard III
Henry VIII
Henry VI
Romeo and Juliet
For never was a story of more woe,
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
Act V, Scene 3
Major Characters:
Benvolio – friend and cousin to Romeo
Tybalt – hot-headed cousin to Juliet
Capulet and Lady Capulet – parents to
Juliet
Montague and Lady Montague – parents of Romeo
Prince Escalus – ruler of Verona
Romeo Montague
Paris – handsome and noble suitor to Juliet:
kinsman of the Prince.
Juliet Capulet
Nurse
Mercutio – friend and kinsman to Romeo
Friar Lawrence
PROLOGUE
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.