1. Shakespearean Theatre
Monday, 12 November 2018Monday, 12 November 2018
Shakespearean Theatre
Learning Objective
To explore Shakespeare’s culture and theatres

2. Elizabethan Theatres
Under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603), England enjoyed a time of peace, which allowed for the development of the arts
Plays would often be performed in yards or in taverns, until the opening of the first theatre in 1567, called The Red Lion.
The Globe Theatre was opened by William Shakespeare and his company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, in It was destroyed by a fire in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, and finally closed in

3. The Globe Theatre
Plays took place during the day due to the light. Along the way, residents could visit the pits where bear baiting and cockfighting took place.
About 21,000 Londoners attended the theatre on a weekly basis, which is over a tenth of the city’s population.
The play began at 2 o’clock, after a loud shot is heard from the tower to hurry the audience.
Performances always take place at the same time on every day of the week, except for Sundays and during Lent. The theatres were also shut from October to April due to the cold weather.
The flag above The Globe:
COMEDY
TRAGEDY
HISTORY

4. Social Classes in the Theatre
Upper Gallery
Galleries where merchants, sea-captains and clerks sit, who paid between 2-6 pence.
Middle Gallery
Lower Gallery
The Yard The lower class citizens, servants and apprentices, can stand in the Yard or “Pit” in front of the stage for a penny., They are known as ‘Groundlings.’
Gentlemen’s/Lords’ Rooms
Decorated oxes for rich and famous people, which cost a shilling.

5. Social Classes in the Theatre
"There are separate galleries and there one stands more comfortably and moreover can sit, but one pays more for it. Thus anyone who remains on the level standing pays only one English penny: but if he wants to sit, he is let in at a farther door, and there he gives another penny. If he desires to sit on a cushion in the most comfortable place of all, where he not only sees everything well, but can also be seen then he gives yet another English penny at another door. And in the pauses of the comedy food and drink are carried round amongst the people and one can thus refresh himself at his own cost.”
Thomas Platter, 1599

6. Structure of The Globe Match the different sections of The Globe 8 3 72 3 4 5 6 7 1 9 10 11 12
Match the different sections of The Globe
____ The Main Entrance
____ The Yard
____ Entrances to lowest gallery
____ Middle Gallery
____ Gentlemen’s/Lords’ rooms
____ The Stage Trap
____ Stage doors
____ Gallery above the stage
____ Back-stage area
____ Dressing rooms
____“Heavens”
____“Hell”

7. Advertise the Globe
Design a leaflet that would have been handed out in Shakespeare’s Globe, informing visitors of:
The plays performed, and the times
Prices for different seats
Code of conduct – acceptable behaviour at the theatre

8. Consolidation
Complete the cloze activity, which summarises the important facts about Shakespeare’s theatre

9. Shakespearean Theatre
Although many _____________ go to see plays nowadays, many more went to see them in _____________ day. The theatre was immensely _____________ both with ordinary people and the _____________ _____________. The plays contained all the ingredients which today make theatre and films appealing: action, _____________, _____________, betrayal, ________ and, of course, fun. The theatre in which the plays were performed were circular _____________ buildings with an open courtyard in the _____________. The stage on which the play was performed jutted out from the side of the building into the courtyard. For a _____________ those who were groundlings stood on the ground in the courtyard in order to watch the play. They were a little bit like a _____________ crowd—noisy and involved—perhaps even a little _____________. In the galleries which lined the building and which were roofed over, people who had paid a _____________ entrance fee were able to sit in some comfort. Those who paid the most were able to sit on a chair on the _____________ itself. Because the theatre was open to the sky, plays were usually only performed on _____________ and, because there was no _____________, during daylight hours only. The acting company advertised the fact that a play was to be performed that day by flying a _____________ from the roof of the theatre. Plays were not rigorously rehearsed in the way they are these days but the _____________ were often elaborate and special effects were used. Cannonballs rolled along the floor of the hut above the stage (known as ‘The Heavens’) made do for _____________, ghosts emerged from the area under the stage (known as _____________) and meat purchased from the _____________ provided blood and guts for the battle scenes. Because, at this time, acting was frowned on by some, _____________ people, and was regarded as a lowly profession, _____________ were not allowed to act in plays. Instead, young boys – _____________ to _____________ years old—played the women’s roles.