Elizabethan Theatre
The first Theatre to be built in London was The Great Theatre - built in 1576 by James Burbage, in Shoreditch, north of the city walls in London (north of London Wall which bounded the city proper); on the edge of Finsbury Fields, just past Bishopsgate Street. The building was a vast, polygonal, three-story timber structure, open to the sun and rain. Its exterior was coated with lime and plaster. It had features similar to those of the future Globe playhouse and other playhouses of the day, such as galleries, upper rooms, a tiring house, and trap doors in the stage floor. Like the Globe, the Theatre had two external staircases, standing on either side of the building, and leading up to the galleries. Those people watching from the main "yard", were surrounded by the comfortable covered galleries, and were forced to stand during the entire performance. It was dismantled in 1599 when its lease expired, and the timbers were then used for the building of The Globe. The Globe was built in 1599, but the thatch roof caught fire in 1613 due to a canon being fired during a production of "Henry VIII" and the theatre was destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1614 and finally demolished in 1644. Shakespeare acted and staged many of his plays at the G
From 1594 - 1603, Shakespeare's company was sponsored by Lord Hunsdon and then by his son, who was the Lord Chamberlain of the court and they became known as the Lord Chamberlains Men. The Fortune Theatre resembled the Globe except that it was square and its timbers remained unpainted. Rhyming verse is usually spoken by mythical or supernatural figures, children and perhaps also for lovers, for example Romeo and Juliet. The dialogue for this would be as follows: - Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene IITwo of the fairest stars in all the heaven,Having some business, do entreat her eyesTo twinkle in their spheres till they return. There was no stage direction other than to exit and enter the stage. Two pennies entitled a person to a seat on a bench in the gallery; protected from sun and rain by a thatched roof made of water reed. In order to gain protection and social acceptance, acting companies began to seek sponsorship of noblemen and royalty in the late 16th century. Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies! Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again. ] (Dr Faustus Part II)Elizabethan audiences were forced to listen more closely to the actors' dialogue in order to understand the action and meaning of the play. In the early 1600's, at the first Globe Theatre - the "Wooden O," groundlings (commoners)paid one English penny. What if her eyes were there, they in her head?The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, (20)As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heavenWould through the airy region stream so brightThat birds would sing and think it were not night. (iii) There is an 'inner' stage at the back of the main stage that can be curtained off. (v) the spectators surrounding area on three sides and is estimated that over 2000 would be present at each performance - some sitting on the stage and some in the pit (vi) the plays were acted out in daylight, in the open air and thus the director had to forego the benefits of complex lighting, scenic and set effects. Entrances and exits were also made of the doors leading to the tiring-house.
Common topics in this essay:
Theatre Wooden,
William Shakespeare,
Scene II,
II Elizabethan,
Henry VIII,
Globe Theatre,
Lord Chamberlain,
Romeo Juliet's,
Bishopsgate Street,
Anon Thisbe,
theatre built,
elizabethan theatre,
globe theatre,
henry viii,
romeo juliet,
blank verse,
acting companies,
main stage,
line verse,
iambic pentameter,
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Acceptance Essays
