Characteristics of Elizabethean Theaters

Characteristics of Elizabethean Theaters
The reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) brought prosperity to England, it

was an age of expansion and new discoveries, and the theatre as a
form of entertainment enjoyed an unprecedented popularity. (It
seems that the drama becomes the dominant popular genre when a
society feels secure in its position in the world, as it happened in the
heyday of Athenian democracy in the 5th century BC.)
At the beginning of the Renaissance, many medieval characteristics of
the theatre remained; first of all, actors were travelling around the
country in companies, under the patronage of a wealthy aristocrat, in
whose house they could survive the winter months, when no open-air
performances were possible. The most famous companies of the age
were the Lord Admirals Men, with Christopher Marlowe as the leading
dramatist, and the Lord Chamberlains Men, with William
Shakespeare.
As travelling companies gave performances wherever they found a
proper place and the prospect of a good audience, they usually
performed in the courtyards of public houses and inns, making good
use of the entrances behind them, and also the windows on the first
floor that overlooked the scene. This type of theatrical space was
used even later when the first purpose-built theatres were
constructed. The space above the stage represented heaven, or was
used when a balcony scene was required, as in Romeo and Juliet; the
stage represented earth and was used for the majority of the action,
with a little space opening from it, serving the purposes of an inner
room; and if the representation of hell was necessary, the empty
space below the stage was used, as in Hamlet, where the Ghosts
voice could come from under the boards.
As the authorities did not like the idea of large crowds gathering
together, most public theatres were built outside the city walls of
London, on Bankside. These theatres were constructed in a circular
shape (this wooden O, as it is referred to in Shakespeares Henry V,
Prologue 13); they were still partly open-air spaces, although there
was a roof above the stage, and people sitting in the galleries were
also sheltered from the extremities of the weather, but the
groundlings, who were standing around the stage, were practically
unprotected from rain or sunshine. The most famous London theatres
were the Rose, the Theatre, and Shakespeares Globe.
The most important feature of Elizabethan theatre was the
appearance of new stage forms, with the result of an acting style
completely different from anything before or after it. The so-called
apron stage, surrounded by the audience on three sides, could not

make use of the scenery of medieval pageants, but neither did it need
and desire the spectacle of later Jacobean masques, not to mention
Victorian theatre and its claim for reality. Therefore, the Elizabethan
bare stage forced the playwright to provide everything verbally the
text of every play contains all sorts of information that modern
authors would include in their stage directions only. (Cf. references
telling us about the location: Rosalind: Well, this is the Forest of
Arden As You Like It, 2.4.12; about the time: King Richard: What ist
oclock? Catesby: Its supper time, my lord: its nine oclock Richard
III, 5.3.48-49; about the weather: Hamlet: The air bites shrewdly, it is
very cold Hamlet, 1.4.1; about the view: Duncan: This castle hath a
pleasant seat Macbeth, 1.6.1 etc.)
As there were no curtains either, entrances were also marked by
words: (Horatio: But soft, behold. Lo, where it comes again, Hamlet,
1.1.129; Here Clarence comes, Richard III, 1.1.41). Even more
problematic were exits, especially when dead bodies had to be
disposed of; therefore most of the time they are carried off the stage,
e.g.: Fortinbras: Let four captains / Bear Hamlet like a soldier to the
stage, Hamlet, 5.2.400-1.
Another significant factor about the dramatic text of Elizabethan
theatre, at least in the case of Shakespeare, is that actually there is
no authorized edition of the plays. The more reliable editions of
Shakespeares plays were published after his death, collected by his
colleagues, actors and literary men (e.g. John Heminges and Henry
Condell, actors in the Lord Chamberlains Company, edited the First
Folio in 1623 and wrote a Preface to it). As there was no copyright, the
right of performance belonged to whoever had the text, therefore
rival companies were trying to steal texts in any way imaginable
(sending their spies to the performance who jotted down the text in
short-hand, or paying actors who recited the play for them as much
as they could remember), which resulted in so-called pirated editions.
Besides the text, the actor had only himself (not herself, as only men
were allowed to act on stage), with his facial features, his body and
senses, and more importantly, his garments, to create a dramatic
personality. There was no scenery and hardly any props used on
stage, but costumes were lavish and often carried metaphorical
meanings as well. Renaissance theatre also relied on the typical
costumes of medieval stock characters (as the crown of kings, the
white robe of angels and the furry black costume of the devil, etc.).
Sometimes, especially when the time/place gap between two scenes
was greater than usual, or some preliminary background information
is indispensable, a prologue was used, e.g. in Romeo and Juliet, Henry

V, The Winters Tale, etc.
Besides the public theatre, there were also private theatres restricted
for the use of the aristocracy and the royal court; Shakespeares
Blackfriars Theatre being the most famous example. These buildings
were similar in structure to the wooden O-s of the public theatres but
had already full roof covers and accommodated a smaller audience.
After the brilliance of Elizabethan drama, the reign of James I brought
significant changes to the theatre as well. As James was insecure
about his own claim for the throne, he tried to reinforce his position as
a king with spectacular representations of absolute royal power. He
also encouraged his wife, Queen Anne, in her passion for elaborate
court entertainments, called masques, which were in fact allegorical
propaganda exercises carried out in spectacular form, glorifying the
King and the monarchy. The significance of the masque in the history
of the theatre was the development of the proscenium stage, which
has been the dominant stage form ever since. The most important
feature of these masques was the visual impact they made, therefore
the role of the designer was essential. The key figure of Jacobean art
was the designer Inigo Jones, who had complete control over theatres
for about two decades.
At the same time, Ben Jonson and other dramatists of the age who
wanted to preserve the dominance of content over spectacle, put on
their satirical plays in the theatres of London. Their favorite genre was
tragedy of the most violent kind, provoking horror with blood and
thunder (not content with the Aristotelian emotions of pity and fear).
However, the increasingly Puritan middle classes, who had been
waging a war against theatre since the opening of the first public
playhouse in 1576, were more and more opposed to this kind of
entertainment, and soon after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642
Parliament banned all plays, recommending instead the profitable
and seasonable considerations of Repentance, Reconciliation and
peace with God (Ronald Harwood, All the Worlds a Stage, Methuen,
London, 1984, p. 150.). They distrusted anything that was pleasant,
as leisure and entertainment were opposed to the Puritan ethics.
Many other features of Renaissance theatre were also clearly against
God and godliness; it is enough to think of the fact that men dressed
up as women on stage, which is referred to as an abominable sin in
the Bible (Deuteronomy 22:5).
Besides, theatres were also considered dangerous for political
reasons, just like all places where large crowds could gather
uncontrolled. It is enough to add to the above the bawdy jokes and

illicit behavior typical of these places, it is not surprising that Puritans
could not allow anything of this sort. Although plays were still put on
in secret, both in private homes and public houses, it was not until the
Restoration of Charles II in 1660 that English theatre entered its
second great age.

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Characteristics of Elizabethean Theaters

The reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) brought prosperity to England, it

apron stage, surrounded by the audience on three sides, could not

is indispensable, a prologue was used, e.g. in Romeo and Juliet, Henry

uncontrolled. It is enough to add to the above the bawdy jokes and

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