Elizabethan Theatre (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

The first purpose-built buildings for staging plays in England were built in the 1570s. They became popular with both rich and poor people. They were where the greatest art of Elizabethan England was performed - the works of William Shakespeare.

The popularity of theatres also caused alarm. The London authorities objected to the large crowds that formed at theatres. They were ideal places for thieves and pickpockets and also created the ideal conditions for spreading the Plague.

Puritans also objected to theatres as they thought the plays set bad examples for the audience.

The popularity of Elizabethan theatre

• Watching performances by travelling players had been popular throughout the sixteenth century

  • Travelling players were groups of actors who journeyed around the country putting on plays

• In 1576, the first purpose-built theatre was opened in London

  • More soon followed, including The Curtain, The Rose and The Globe

• Thousands of Elizabethans of all social classes flocked to theatres.

  • The labouring classes could buy a ticket for a penny and stand in the open air on the ground in front of the stage

  • More expensive seats with cushions and covers from the rain were available in the galleries

• Playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe wrote comedies, tragedies and histories

  • After the plays, music, dancing and jokes were performed on the stage

Opposition to Elizabethan theatre

• The London theatres were built outside of the city walls, meaning that they were beyond the control of the mayor

• However, the large crowds that the theatres attracted caused the Mayor of London to ask the Privy Council to take action

• The mayor complained that the theatres:

  • Distracted people away from their work

  • Attracted thieves

  • Attracted prostitutes

  • Created the ideal conditions for the plague to spread

• There was also strong opposition to the theatres from Puritans (opens in a new tab)

  • They did not approve of the content of the plays, which they believed was immoral

  • They were also against theatres in general, as they believed their roots lay in pagan Ancient Greece