Elizabethan Theatre Research

Elizabethan Theatre began in the mid 16th century when plays were beginning to be performed in inn yards on temporary stages. From here, Elizabethan Theatre begun to develop and become vastly popular. Playhouses and amphitheatres were begining to be built, and it attracted the attention of both upper and lower social classes. Theatre was written mainly about royalty, society and politics. Towards the end of the reign of Charles I public plays become less common, and the theatres left remained open by performing earlier works from decades previous. William Shakespeare was a great contribution to Elizabethan Theatre, as well as Christopher Marlowe and many other playwrights, as well as influencial actors such as Burbage.

Brief Historic Timeline

1564 - William Shakespeare was born

1567 - The Red Lion Theatre was built (First English Theatre)

1576 - James Burbage was granted permission to build "The Theatre" in Shoreditch, London.

1577 - Another open air amphitheatre called The Curtain was also opened in Shoreditch

1587 - The Rose Amphitheatre in Surrey opened

1593 - Theatre's closed due to the Plague/ Black Death

1594 - The Lord Chamberlain's Company was formed.

1595 - First document mentioning Shakespeare's connection to Theatre

1596 - Authorities banned public presentation of plays within London

1597 - Shakespeare's company of actors move to the Curtain Theatre

1598 - Plans are made for the construction of the Globe Theatre

1599 - The Globe Theatre is opened on Bankside

1600 - Richard Burbage is forced to lease out Blackfriars

1603 - The plague strikes again killing 33,000 people in London - Theatres close

1613 - Globe Theatre catches fire

1614 - Globe rebuild and stronger

1616 - Death and Burial of William Shakespeare

1642 - Ordinance published by Parliment ending all stage plays and Civil war breaks out

1644 - The Globe demolished

1648 - Puritans order all playhouses and theatre to be destroyed, all players to be seized and whipped and anyone caught watching a play would be fined.

1649 - Civil war leads to execution of King Charles I by Puritans.

1653 - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England

1658 - Cromwell dies and Puritan power declines

1660 - King Charles II restored to throne, and restores Theatre.

Elizabethan Inn Yards

Before theatre's were created, plays were often performed in Inn Yards. Inn Yards provided alcohol and a place to stay for travelers whilst providing the plays as entertainment. Acting troupes were often found travelling around inn yards, bringing material to each place, until people finally began producing plays to stay and be performed there, almost like a home for the acting troupes. Plays attracted more customers to inns and everyone made a profit from it. the yards would often have balconies, and an audience member would pay more money to go up to a balcony. This influenced the design of theatre in the future. You would usually find an audience of up to 500 people. The yards were extremely popular between 1576 - 1594, and some eventually were converted to play houses.

Amphitheatre

After playhouses started to become more popular, it was soon becoming apparent that they would become overcrowded, and would attract thieves. They would also receive complaints of local people and the Puritans weren't exactly supportive of any practice of theatre. James Burbarge decided to create a purpose built building for theatre, and so along with architect "Dr John Dee" who had a wide knowledge of Greek and Roman theatre, they built "The Theatre" in 1576. It could hold the capacity of over 3000 people and the profits of the industry rose. The aim was to build a cheap but grand building for theatre, and you would often find a theatre made of timbre, stone and plaster and only took 6 months to build. It was proved that the ancient Greek influence was a success. Even Greek tragedies and comedies had an influence on England, and some stories, such as Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra were created with Greek theatre in mind. 

Playhouses

Playhouses were also developed from Inn Yards. They were were also build with the theatre in mind, but were slightly smaller than Amphitheatres, cost more, attracted more upper class citizens who didn't mind paying more and had a more select audience. It helped develop the career as an Actor into a more year rounded job, and allowed performers to perform during winter. Some Inn Yards where developed and constructed into playhouses. A public theatre performance would usually cost between 1 - 3 pence, whereas a playhouse performance could range up to 26 pence which was rather expensive during the Elizabethan period. The higher price you paid, the more comfortable your stay was, and every audience member would sit in the luxury of a seat whilst watching the performance. The audience remained at 500 people, but still gathered a lot of money due to the entrance costs. Evening performances were now also a possibility and candles lit the room for the performance. Food and drink had now began to be served during intervals. Music had also become involved as the acoustics of a playhouse were correct. This lead to the development of plays.

The Performer

Before theatres were built, actors had to travel from town to town to find work either by themselves or with their acting troupes. During the time in the 16th century the Plague/ Black Death was growing strong and it was becoming more and more difficult to travel around the country. Government were trying to stop people from travelling and you had to have legal right to travel, because they were trying to stop the spread of infection. This meant that it was harder for actors to find work. Actors were also never allowed to wear anything that was higher than their real social status. Plays about kings or queens could have been spoilt because of the lack of costume, but the rules were rules.

Earl of Leicesters Men was the first prominent acting troupe, one of the actors being James Burbage. After the creation of Burbage's "The Theatre" the troupe homed their performances there. The troupe was the Queen's favorite and she granted license by a royal patent for the troupe. and After the death of the Earl of Leicester in 1588, the troupe grouped with Lord Strange's Men, another famous acting troupe. Chamberlains men was another acting troupe, and was considered the most important troupe in Elizabethan England, and soon become known as the King's Men. Admiral's Men was also an influential acting troupe, and along with the other troupes, was a great contribution to English Theatre during the Elizabethan period.

Richard III

Richard III was a play written by Shakespeare in what was estimated 1592. The play consists of the story of Richard III's rise to power. It comes from the first Folio on Shakespeares Tragedies and Comedies.

Machiavellianism is a theme visited in the play, and means the rise of power especially in politics or in one's career. Although this is not used in a particularly positive way, and can refer to someone who is willing to take cunning, scheming and selfish actions to get to where they want, which is certainly what Richard did to reach the throne.

Like Greek theatre, Elizabethan theatre follows the same direction with plays. They would have comedies and tragedies, and Shakespeare has written a range of these. Richard the third includes both comedic and tragic elements. 

The first performance of Richard III was performed in 1592 by the conglomerate of the Admiral’s Men and Lord Strange’s Men. The play was popular and Lord Chamberlain’s Men often performed this to audiences. It continued right from it's premiere into the 1600s, when it moved to the Globe Theatre. It was given at court as late as 16 November 1633, the only early performance of which there is a record, and may well have remained in the repertory of the King’s Men until the theatres closed in 1642. By the early 1600s, Richard Burbage was playing the title role in Richard III.

Influences on the play:

• Edward Hall - Hall’s chronicle (1548) was a principal source for the play. It includes Sir Thomas More’s ‘The Tragical Doynges of Kyng Richard the Thirde’ which contributed a lot of information to Shakespeare, and also helped him develop his character and portrayal for Richards character.

• Raphael Holinshed, The Third Volume of Chronicles(1587). Shakespeare used Holinshed for some details of the action.

• The Mirour for Magistrates (1587). Shakespeare made much selective use of this source, for example for action involving Clarence and Hastings.

After the English Restoration, Shakespeare's plays were performed in playhouses. His plays had elaborate scenery, music, dance, lighting and fireworks, he would often reform and shape his works. A typical Victorian production of the works of Shakespeare would be known to have historical costumes and set designs. Sometimes the scenery was that in depth that it would often clash with the sudden and frequent change of scene and settings, so after some time, the sets were known to become more abstract so that they didn't have to change as often.