Elizabethan Theater

By Paolo B.

Terminology

• The term “Elizabethan theatre” covers only the plays written and performed publicly in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. "Elizabethan theatre" is distinguished from Jacobean theatre which was associated with the reign of King James I, and Caroline theatre which was associated with King Charles I.

Background • Renaissance theatre was

separated by several medieval theatre traditions, such as the mystery plays that formed a part of religious festivals in England and other parts of Europe during the Middle Ages. The mystery plays were complex stories of legends based on biblical themes, originally performed in churches.

Theatres

• The establishment of large and profitable public theatres was an essential factor in the success of English Renaissance drama.

• -Curtain Theatre(1577) The Rose (1587), the Swan (1595), the Globe (1599), the Fortune(1600), and the Red Bull (1604).

Performances

• The acting companies functioned on a repertory system, unlike modern productions that can run for months or years on end, the troupes of this era rarely acted the same play two days in a row.

Costumes

• Since Elizabethan theatre did not make use of lavish scenery, instead leaving the stage largely bare with a few key props, the main visual appeal on stage was in the costumes. Costumes were often bright in color and visually attractive but were expensive.

Playwrights

• The growing population of London, the growing wealth of its people, and their fondness for spectacle produced a dramatic literature of remarkable variety, quality, and extent. Although most of the plays written for the Elizabethan stage have been lost, over 600 remain.

Genres

• Genres of the period included the history play, which depicted English or European history. Shakespeare’s plays about the lives of kings, such as Richard III and Henry V, belong to this category.

Printed texts

• A little over 600 plays were published in the period as a whole, most commonly in individual quarter editions. Through much of the modern era, it was thought that play texts were popular items among Renaissance readers that provided healthy profits for the stationers who printed and sold them.

End of Renaissance theatre

• The rising Puritan movement was hostile toward theater, as they felt that "entertainment" was sinful. Politically, playwrights and actors were clients of the monarchy and aristocracy, and most supported the Royalist cause.

The end!