Elizabetethen Theater

Elizabethan Theater

Elizabethan theatre is a general concept embodying the plays written and performed openly in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I from 1558 to 1603. The term can be applied more generally to also incorporate theatre of Elizabeth's immediate successors, James I and Charles I, till the end of public theatres in 1642 on the inception of Civil War. (Elizabethan theatre: Wikipedia) During the end of 16th century and inception of 17th century William Shakespeare dominated the theatrical environment, and at that time witnessing a play during afternoon was considered a great entertainment for many members of London society and acclaimed similar popular form of entertainment as that of going to movies and plays presently. A thorough look at the theatre of Shakespeare's time however, will entail many distinctions between the Elizabethan theatre and the movies and plays of today. (Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan theatre!)

During the later part of 15th century, plays were being staged in two kinds of theatre buildings: the private theatre and the public theatre. During 1576, the first public theatre in London was constructed and during the period Shakespeare was bringing out his plays and highest number of play houses in London were emerged in comparison to other European cities. To illustrate Rose was constructed during 1587, the Swan in 1595, the Globe in 1599 and the Fortune in 1600. Shakespeare and his patronizing company, Lord Chamberlain's Men, played in the Globe theatre. (Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan theatre!)

Elizabethan theatres originated from several bases. A primary source was the obscurity of the plays that were integral part of religious ceremonies in England and other parts of Europe during the middle Ages. The mystery plays were complicated retellings of legends depending upon biblical themes, actually performed in churches but later becoming more prone to the secular celebrations that grew up around religious festivals. Other sources incorporate the morality plays that grown the 'University drama' that attempted to recreate Greek tragedy. Subsequently the Commedia dell'arte and the detailed masques regularly presented at court came to play roles in the designing of public theatre. Temporary companies of players associated with households of leading noblemen and performing seasonally in various locations prevailing prior to Elizabeth's reign. These became the groundwork for the professional players that performed on the Elizabethan stage. (Elizabethan theatre: Wikipedia)

The tours of these players steadily substituted the performances or the mystery and morality plays by local players and a 1572 law avoided the remaining companies, deficient of formal patronage by discarding them as vagabonds. At court also the performance of masques by courtiers and other amateurs, are really common in the early years of Elizabeth, was replaced by the professional companies with noble patrons who rose in number and quality during her reign. The local government of London was normally aggressive to public performances, but its aggressiveness was superseded by the interest of the Queen for plays and support of the Privy Council. Theatres strangled up in suburbs, particularly in Southwark, reachable across the Thames to city dwellers, but nor regulated by the London corporation. The companies maintained the pretence that their public performances were only rehearsals for the regular performances prior to the Queen, but while the latter did provide prestige, the former were the correct source of the income professional players necessitated. (Elizabethan theatre: Wikipedia)

Up to the Middle of the Elizabethan era no particular theatre buildings, but the players in London or elsewhere, performed wherever they could find an available place in open squares, large halls, or particularly, in the quadrangular open inner yards of inns. While the profession became better organized and as the plays enhanced in quality, such rough and ready arrangements became more and more unsatisfactory, but there were particular problems in the way of protecting better ones in London. For the population and magistrates of London were prevailing Puritan, and the enlarged body of the Puritans, then as always, were strongly antagonistic to the theater as a frivolous and irreligious thing- an attitude for which the lives of the players and the character of many plays afforded, then as almost always, only too much reason. (An Elizabethan Stage from Chapter VI. The Drama from about 1550 to 1642)

The city was very nervous of its prerogatives; so that irrespective of the strong patronage of the drama, throughout her whole reign no public theater buildings were permitted within the proximity of City Corporation. However, such confinements were narrow and in 1576 James Burbage initiated a new age of erecting 'The Theater' just to the north of the 'city', only a few minutes' walk from the center of population. His illustration was soon pursued by other managers, though the favorite place for the theaters soon came to be the 'Bankside', the region in Southwark just across the Thames from the city where Tabard Inn of Cahucer had erected and where pits for bear-baiting and cock-fighting had emerged for a long period of time. (An Elizabethan Stage from Chapter VI. The Drama from about 1550 to 1642)

The structure of the Elizabethan theatre was really confined from its prime predecessor, the inn yard. Under the open sky theatre in the opposite side to the street entry the players were habitually fixing their stage. On three sides, the ordinary part of the audience was witnessing the play standing, the invitees and persons capable of paying a fixed price were sitting in the open galleries set up all around the world. In the theatres, initially square-built or octagonal, the stage projected from the rear wall quite towards the centre of the open sky pit to which also the common people were allowed for a nominal fees of sixpence or less, stood and jostled each other, either went home when it rained or stayed and became wet as the magnitude of their interest in the play might indicate. The public theatre was normally a round square, or octagonal wooden structure that is described by Shakespeare himself as 'wooden O'. The building was capable of accommodating roughly 3000 people. Since this open air structure relied upon natural lighting, all plays start at 3 pm during summer and at 2 pm in the summer. When a play was to be performed as a symbol a flag was raised on the top of the playhouse for the Londoners of the event. Additionally, a trumpeter would also announce the approaching play in song. (Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan theatre!)

During the Elizabethan era in England, theaters where built of wood. They comprised of several floors of covered galleries around a courtyard that was open to the elements. A major section of the audience would situate in the yard, directly in front of the stage. This layout is supposed to have originated from the experience of holding plays in the yard of an inn. The only theatre whose scopes are known is the Fortune Theatre that had a square floor design. But the Globe Theatre in London, where many of the plays of William Shakespeare were first performed was supposed to be round. The fact of its confirmation for the round shape is a line in Shakespeare's Henry V that calls the building 'this wooden O' and a rough woodcut example of the city of London. (Theater (structure))

The Theatre was considered to be the first permanent edifice constructed in England for plays built outside the city confinements of London in 1576 by James Burbage. It quickly had several competitors, but little is recognized about any of these play houses. The contract for The Fortune built in 1600 still survives, and it reminds of the square shape of three-storied building, 80 feet on the outside, 55 feet on the inside. The stage was considered to be 43 feet wide and 271/2 feet deep. It has been estimated that about 800 people could stand around the three sides of the stage on the field that was known as the yard and the other 1500 could be seated in the three galleries. The other primary piece of evidence pertaining to the physical nature of the theater are the 'De Witt drawing' that is normally a copy of sketch made by an audience to The Swan, and pieces of evidence that can be gleaned from the plays themselves, such as 'Enter a Fairy at one door and Robin Goodfellow at another.' The end differs and scholarly tempers run high; the following statements are not free from ambiguity. (Chorus: The UVic Writer's Guide)

One of the most outstanding stages of Elizabethan time was the Globe Theater, a 17th century English theater in Southwark, London, remarkable for the early and present productions of the plays of Shakespeare and of the dramatic works of Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Flether and others. The Globe was created in 1599 by the famous English actor Richard Burgage, in partnership with Shakespeare and others. The octagonally-shaped outerwall of the theater encompassed a roofless inner pit into which the stage was projected. Around the pit consisted of three galleries, and it was one above the other, the topmost of which was roofed with thatch. (Costumes and Sets in Shakespeare's Theater)

If one was to return back in time and attend a play in Elizabethan theatre, one might immediately witness many attributes of the theatre's interior that would appear to be strange. The first variation witnessed upon entering the theatre was the arrangement of the stage, a large platform surrounded by the audience on three sides. This close nearness of the audience to stage yielded a more interactive relationship between the actors and the audience. Unlike most of the present day audiences, the people visiting Elizabethan theatre were associated in the play, shouting suggestions, encouragement, or curses to the actors. When the audience did not like a character, they even fling rotten fruit at the actors to represent their discontentment. (Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan theatre!)

Most theatres were multilateral or round structures. Shakespeare regards the theatre a 'wooden O' along with three galleries; the yard is open roofed one. From one side a raised stage or open platform expanded into the middle. A form of wooden awning projected over the stage and in some theatres rested on two pillars; these pillars could conveniently serve as a hiding place for an actor appeared to be unseen by the other characters. At the end of the stage there sometimes was a covered alcove or booth, that when unwrapped might be taken as a room or a cave. The curtain is sometimes called an arras, and it was possibly behind this curtain that Polonius veil, only to be stabbed. At the back of the stage there were probably two or three doors, through which entrances and exits were made. (Glossary of Terms)

Possibly the tiring house was behind the rear of the stage. At the top of the alcove or booth was a space that could be utilized for an upper stage; flanking the upper stage were windows, one of that may have provided Juliet for her misnamed balcony scene. Some scholars advocated that in a higher place were musicians, and at the very top- called the top- was an opening from which an actor could notice, in Henry VI, Part I, Joan of Arc come out on the top, thrusting out a torch burning. The acting was primarily made on the main stage, but the inner stage, upper stage, windows, and top must have been utilized infrequently. The cellar under the stage was utilized to illustrate for the voice of the ghost in Hamlet, and for Ophelia's grave. Though some scenery was utilized the absence of a front curtain led to many detailed scenic influences and encouraged non-stop action. The stage which was a battlefield could by the help of a throne, become a room in a palace. (Glossary of Terms)

Another attribute of the Elizabethan theatre that might have seemed odd was the tiring house, a space behind the stage that is similar to the present day backstage field of a theatre. The tiring-house was utilized as dressing rooms by the actors. Entrances and way outs were also consisted of doors approaching to the tiring house. Actors could also enter the action from the masked discovery space at the end of the stage. By drawing the curtains the actors could represent the characters those were snooping on the conversations of the characters on stage. The Elizabethan stage also incorporated a small roof projecting over a portion of the back part of the main stage those were topped by a hut. This structure was also recognized as the universe and consisted of the machinery essential to generate sound effects or to lower angels and gods down to the stage. Gods, angels, and other characters could also come out in the gallery that hung over the back of the main stage. This gallery was sometimes applied as a castle wall or a balcony. However, 'ghosts' and 'demons' must also be entailed for and so the stage was equipped with a trapdoor taking to a 'Hell' behind the stage. The trapdoor was also applied as a grave in performance of theatrical funerals. (Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan theatre!)

The wealth and social status influenced the seating arrangements in the Elizabethan theatre. A penny was paid by everybody for entry, but a supplementary fee is charged that enabled one to sit in one of the galleries, safeguarded from the elements. The rich patrons of the theatre were the most likely to be able to pay this fee and normally filled those seats. The poor members of the audience, or groundlings stood in the courtyard around the stage. Sporadically, the noble guests of the theatre were offered seats of honor at the edge of the stage also. (Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan theatre!) The pervasive building proper was unavailable with tiers of galleries, normally two or three in number entailed with seats and here of course, sat the people of means, the women deterring from embarrassment and annoyance only by being always covered.

Beneath the unraveled front portion of the stage the middle part was wrapped by a lean-to-roof sloping down from the rear wall of the building and supported by two pillars erected on the stage. This roof is hidden a loft, from which mechanical devices work out to lift down the gods and goddesses or any appropriate attributes. Even farther back, under the galleries, was the 'rear-stage' that could be applied to include inner rooms; and that part of the lower gallery immediately above it was normally appropriated as a part of the stage representing such places as city walls or the second stories of houses. The musicians place was also just along side of the gallery. (An Elizabethan Stage from Chapter VI. The Drama from about 1550 to 1642)

The stage thus was a platform stage witnessed by the audience from all sides not like the one of our time, a 'picture stage', with its scenes witnessed through only a single large outlet. Such an arrangement did not make possible any front curtain, even though a curtain was usually hung from the floor of the gallery before the rear stage. Therefore, the variations between scenes must normally be made in full view of the audience, and rather than terminating the scenes with significant situations the dramatists must arrange for a withdrawal of the actors, only avoiding possibly the impact of a mere anti-climax. Dead bodies must either contract up and walk away in plain sight or be carried off, either by stage hands, or, as part of the action, by other characters in the play. The subsequent tool was some times deployed at significant violence to probability as while Shakespeare makes Falstaff bear away Hotspur and Hamlet, Polonius. (An Elizabethan Stage from Chapter VI. The Drama from about 1550 to 1642)

Similarly, while the middle-age tradition of detailed costuming was continued, there was every reason for sticking to the medieval simplicity of scenery. A single potted plant may signify a forest, and houses and caverns with much of the same can be conveniently being left to the audience for imagination. In no respect, however, was actuality of setting a significant concern of either dramatist or audience; in several instances, evidently, neither of them heeded to think of a scene as situated in any exact location, hence the anxious effort of Shakespeare's editors on this point is beside the mark. This detachment made for easy shift from one place to another, and the entire simplicity of staging had the significant benefit of permitting the audience to focus their concentration on the play instead of the accompaniments.

But behind the curtain on the rear-stage more elaborate scenery might be placed and Elizabethan plays, like those of our own day, seem at times to have 'alternation scenes', inclined to be acted upon in front, while in the next background was being ready beneath the balcony curtain. The deficiency of detailed settings also facilitated quickness of the actions and the performance of the play at the initial stages at 3 pm, normally scheduled to be over by the diner hour after five hours. Even less satisfactory was the complete absence of women-actors, who till after the Restoration of 1660 did not appear on the public stage. The insufficiency of the boys who obtained the part of the women-characters is alluded to by Shakespeare and must have been resulted in fatigue to any dramatist who was attempting to fetch a delicate or complex heroine. (An Elizabethan Stage from Chapter VI. The Drama from about 1550 to 1642)

The chorus in Elizabethan Drama was derived from Greek drama. In Greek drama the chorus in Elizabethan Drama, who mention on the performance in choral odes isolating the play's episodes, sometimes forecasting or interpreting, so the audience realizes more than the characters within the play. (Romeo & Juliet: The Contemporary Film, the Classic Play) The chorus normally provided classical attitudes, or the probable views of the audience. (Chorus: The UVic Writer's Guide) Initially, the choral songs made up the majority of the play, the spoken monologue and dialogue being interpolated. Later, however, the chorus became minor, offering inter-act comments. Two types of the stanzaic forms of the Greek choral ode were Strophe and Antistrophe, the other being the epode. The strophe and antistrophe are similar in respect of the meter. As the chorus sang the strophe, they transformed from right to left; while singing the antistrophe, they retraced their steps correctly, moving back to the original position. (Greek Drama)