Elizabethan Theater late 1500’s- early 1600’s The most powerful woman in the world. Queen Elizabeth 1 st of England Born Died 1603

Elizabeth loves the theater but… Theater thrives under Queen Elizabeth’s protection. She sponsors performances, protects actors and arranges private performances of plays. Noblemen follow her lead…. But… Church and politicians feel theater is dangerous because they believe it spreads disease, promotes crime, and is the playground of Satan.

What do theaters look like? Theaters are called “wooden Os” because of their shape. Musicians play on the third level. Special effects are used – pigs bladders full of blood, thunder and lighting, explosions. Groundlings stand on the dirt floor of the theater to watch. Plays use no scenery – Scenery is in the language. Theater Vocabulary: Box Office – a place where the cash boxes were counted before the show began and the actors were paid. Famous theaters were: The Globe, The Theater, The Blackfriars.

The Globe – Shakespeare’s Playhouse

The Globe ultimately…. Burned to the ground during a performance of Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII because of a special effect cannon accident meeting the dry thatched roof of the theater.

The Blackfriars – Shakespeare’s Indoor Playhouse

Who are the Actors? Actors are all men dressed in clothes passed down from nobility. Young boys play the women’s roles. Richard Burbage Will Kempe William Shakespeare

Elements of the Plays Heavy Use of Imagery – Listen to Oberon example. Iambic Pentameter example: Romeo and Juliet But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. Prose example: A Midsummer Night’s Dream When my cue comes, call me and I will answer. My next is ‘Most fair Pyramus’. Heigh Ho! Peter Quince! Flute the bellows mender? Snout the tinker? Starveling? God’s my life! Stolen hence and left me asleep. I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream.

Trouble Brewing with Religious Leaders Why are the plays performed during the daytime? It keeps people from working and that is evil! Why do actors dress up in costumes and pretend to be something they are not? It is against God’s plan and disrupts the status levels in society. Satan is using actors as bait to lead people to hell. They must be stopped! Theaters are located across the river, out of the “city” to try and avoid the wrath of politicians and church leaders.

Exit Queen Elizabeth

Enter King James 1st

Yes, that King James….

And the later rise to power of…… Oliver Cromwell 1st Lord Protector of the Commonwealth

And the growing strength of the Puritans….. Same as the Pilgrims in America….

And that leads to……. September 2, 1642 Puritan leaders ordered the closure of the London theatres. The theatres remained closed for most of the next eighteen years