A Day at the Theatre in 1600

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A Day at the Theatre in 1600

• Steve Wood
• TCCC

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Across the Thames

• To get to the theatre district in Shakespeares
  day, most residents of London had to travel south
  across the Thames River.
• The river could be crossed via London Bridge, but
  most crossed it via small boats, called wherry
  boats (a sort of water taxi).

A view of London Bridge From around 1600
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The Thames, 1616
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Southwark

• Crossing the Thames would bring someone to
  Southwark, where a number of theaters were close
  to the river.
• Along with the theaters, this area had many
  taverns and other attractions such as
  bear-baiting dens, rat-catching dog pens, pits
  for cock fights, and, of course, brothels.
• In short, it was like Las Vegas.

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Choosing a Play

• Generally, advertising was forbidden, so most
  theaters indicated a play by flying a flag.
• The color of the flag told a potential audience
  the type of play white for comedy, black for
  tragedy, and red for history.
• Plays ran in the late afternoon, six days a week.

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Admission

• The cheapest ticket in the theater cost a penny.
  For that penny, a spectator got to stand in the
  pit (actually the cock-pit), the packed-dirt area
  in front of and around the stage.
• These members of the audience were called the
  Groundlings. They were often very rowdy and were
  known for pulling bad actors right off the stage.
• More money would find you an actual seat.

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Refreshments

• Vendors sold water and beer given the state of
  Elizabethan hygiene, beer was always the safer
  choice.
• For snacks, vendors sold apples and oranges,
  gingerbread, and various types of nuts.
• The most popular snack, the Elizabethan
  equivalent of popcorn, were toasted hazelnuts.

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Restrooms

• There were no restrooms in an Elizabethan
  theatre, despite the fact that the Globe Theater,
  for example, might have held as many as 2000
  people in the audience.
• There were no intermissions. Plays ran straight
  through, even though many of them were over three
  hours long.

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Actors

• Elizabethan acting companies were all male.
• Female parts were played by young men whose voice
  had not changed.
• This is probably the reason that there are not
  many middle-aged women characters in Shakepeares
  play.

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Costumes

• Elizabethan costumes were very elaborate and
  beautiful, but they were almost always
  contemporary. In other words, costumes were not
  made to match the setting of the play instead,
  they were the current fashions of the day.

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Costumes

• The only exception to this were plays about
  ancient Greece or Rome, where togas and robes
  were used.
• Often, the wardrobe of an acting company was one
  of its most valuable assets.
• Actors were often fined for wearing the companies
  costumes out on the street.

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Props

• Acting companies did not use many props, but
  those used were often central to the plot.
• The real Philip Henslowe (Shakespeares manager
  in Shakespeare in Love) gave an inventory in his
  diary in 1598.

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Props

• The inventory of all the properties for my Lord
  Admiral's Men, the 10 of March 1598 Item, i rock,
  i cage, i tomb, i Hell mouth... i bedstead.Item,
  viii lances, i pair of stairs for Phaethon.Item,
  i globe, i golden sceptre iii clubsItem, i
  golden fleece, ii racquets, i bay tree.Item, i
  lion's skin, i bear's skin Phaethon'slimbs,
  Phaethon's chariot, Argus's head.Item, Iris's
  head, rainbow i little altar. . .i ghost's
  gown i crown with a sun.

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Swords

• One important set of props were the swords used
  in fight scenes.
• Often when you read one of Shakespeares plays, a
  fight is given in a one line stage direction
  (They fight.). However, in the actual
  performance that fight might have lasted ten
  minutes.
• Fights were especially pleasing for the
  Groundlings.