1. English Renaissance Theatre
16– 17th century
Queen Elizabeth
(Reign )

2. Where have we been?
Coming out of Medieval era; Remember, Medieval era was God-centered
Medieval Theater
focused on
teaching
morals
or religion

3. When theater moved out of the church, it got out of the church’s control.
By the end of the 15th century, actors were considered vagabonds and rogues unless they were attached to a court.

4. 1558 - Queen Elizabeth banned all plays with religious subject

5. Can I get a comeback?
Universities develop:
Classical learning
Students study Roman plays & perform them
Students write plays

6. Can I get a comeback?
Educated boys with nothing to do
People moving into cities from farms
More $$ = More free time = Need for entertainment

7. The city of London is run by city council.
Didn’t want any
part of theatre
Strong Puritan
influence
(Middle Class)

8. So public theatres were located outside of the city.

10. BUT in palaces, theatre was very popular!

11. In 1572, the actor was legally recognized BUT:
Actor & theatre had to get a license.
Theatre was under control of a council.

12. All scripts had to be read & approved by council.
Acting troupe had to be under the patronage (sponsorship) of a nobleman.

13. Bear baiting was a very popular form of entertainment.
Bear chained to a stake and dogs attack.
Bear baiting pit – flat, circular, outdoor area with fence

15. Richard Burbage:
Needed a place to act
rented a bear baiting pit – called it The Theatre
Could easily be turned back into bear baiting pit

16. The Theatre: Very successful!!
Fixed place = fixed audience = need for more scripts
After 20 years, could not renew lease
Burbage took the stage & moved it to a new space - The Globe.

17. Let’s talk about space.

18. DeWitt Sketch (1596)
Swan Theatre
Discovered in 1880

19. Physical theatre structure:
Flat, thrust stage
Two side entrances
Two columns with a roof
Second story platform; balcony

20. Physical theatre structure:
5. Discovery space (inner below) – recessed area at the back of the stage used to reveal/conceal characters or places.

21. DeWitt Sketch (1596)
Swan Theatre

22. Yard: area where audience members stood
Groundlings: those who stood
Gallery: area where audience members sat
Claques: paid applauders / participants

23. Characteristics of Elizabethan theatre:
All actors were men
Simple sets, but elaborate costumes
Emblematic signifiers –props or symbols the audience knows

24. Sam Wannamaker:
American who moved to England
Surprised to find very little on Shakespeare’s theatre.

25. 1989 - decided to research The Globe & rebuild it.
They found The Globe foundation.
Researched the remains, altered his ideas, & built The Globe. (1997)

28. Fun Facts! Never went to college Wife - Anne Hathaway Lived in London
while his family
lived in Stratford
3 kids – Susanna, Hamnet, & Judith

29. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616):
Shareholder, actor, and playwright in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men & The King’s Men
Eventually became part owner of The Globe

30. William Shakespeare:
First Folio –1623 his plays were published; some had never been printed before
Wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets.

31. Hamlet:
It was very common for writers to
borrow from
earlier
literary works

32. Renaissance Humanism:
a new interest in human experience, and also an optimism about the potential scope of human understanding
So.. God-centered focus (Medieval) transitioned into man-centered (Renaissance)

33. The purpose of cultivating reason was to lead to a better understanding of how to act
By the 16th and 17th centuries a more skeptical view of Humanism had developed.
Stressed limits of human understanding

34. The world was a world of appearances; human beings could never hope to see past those appearances into the “realities” that lie behind them