Interesting information about
the Elizabethan Playhouses during the life and times of
William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre
Elizabethan Playhouses
An Elizabethan Playhouse
was a small, private, indoor hall. The Elizabethan playhouse
was designed to stage plays in an indoor environment. The
great open theatres only produced plays during the summer
months. It made good business sense to design an indoor
theatre which would comfortable house audiences during the
winter. The indoor theatres called playhouses were
born ! Playhouses were open to anyone who could pay but were
more expensive with generally more select audiences. It was
not long before a vast amount of plays were being produced
indoors in the Elizabethan playhouses. The playhouses helped
the acting troupes considerably as playhouses allowed for an
all year round profession, not one restricted to the summer
at the mercy of the English weather. Playhouses also allowed
for luxury and comfort for courtiers and the nobility when
watching a play thus encouraging wealthy and powerful
clientele - heating was of real benefit. Many plays were
produced in buildings with Great Halls which were suitable
for the purpose of staging plays. The Gray's Inn and
Whitehall were two such theatres and were easily converted
into playhouses. Purpose built playhouses were also
specifically built such as the Salisbury Court playhouse
great examples of the Elizabethan Playhouses. The Audience
capacity of Elizabethan playhouses was up to 500 people.
Interesting Facts and Information about
Elizabethan Playhouses
The following interesting facts and
information provide a fascinating insight into Elizabethan Playhouses:
Elizabethan
playhouses were suitable for winter and evening productions
The plays
produced at Elizabethan playhouses were selected to suit the
indoor venues - the emphasis was on the words of the play
rather than noisy special effects which were strong features
of the open air theatres. The Playhouses were more
comfortable and luxurious than other theatres
Admittance to
the Playhouses were more expensive than the other types of
Elizabethan theatres. Attending a public theatre performance
would cost between 1 to 3 pennies, but admission to a
private, indoor, theatre cost between 2 to 26 pennies
The cost
prohibited the attendance of most common folk at the
Elizabethan Playhouses
Everyone was
given a seat in the Elizabethan playhouses- the higher the
price of admission, the more comfortable the seat was
The indoor
Elizabethan Playhouses were lighted by candles so
performances could be staged in the evening and this use of
candles led to the introduction of ' intervals ' when
burnt-down candles were replaced
Food and drink
was served, or sold, during the intervals
Music and songs
was strongly featured at the Elizabethan playhouses as the
acoustics of indoor theatres lended themselves to this
Beautiful
scenery were introduced - as this was not open to the open
air elements this could be re-used over and over again and
the costumes tended to be quite sumptuous
Facts and information about Elizabethan
Playhouses Interesting Facts and
information about the development of the Elizabethan Playhousess.
Additional details, facts and information about the Elizabethan Theatre can be accessed via the
Globe Theatre Sitemap.
Elizabethan
Inn yards
Interesting
Facts and information about Elizabethan Playhouses
People and
events - Elizabethan Playhouses
Why were the
Elizabethan Playhouses built?
What was the
differences between the open air theatres and the
Elizabethan inn yards
