1. Elizabethan Drama

2. Theatre buildings Prior to 1576, plays frequently performed at inns 1576 – The Theatre 1577 – Curtain Theatre 1587 – The Rose 1595 – The Swan 1599 – The Globe 1600 – Fortune 1604 – The Red Bull 1599-1629 - Indoor theatres: Blackfriars, Whitefriars, Cockpit, Salisbury Court Theatre

3. Three types of stage

4. The Globe Stage Outer stage Inner stage Upper stage Hell Actors' entrances Special effects level

5. The Performance All the actors were men or boy apprentices Hearing the play / viewing the play Setting created through dialogue Many stage props Elaborate costumes (but anachronisms) Audience participation

6. Mimesis – realism - illusion Definition of mimesis Puritans mainly reacted against theatre as “trickery” and actors as “con men” “Illusions are the Devil’s work!” The plays of the age became deliberately anti- mimetic to quieten this view Anti-mimetic devices: the artificial language, boys playing women, soliloquies, three- dimensional playing, familiarity with actors, metatheatrical jokes etc.

7. Performance Conditions Great crowd – traffic - “parking” problems Plays lasted 2-3 hours Food and drink – apples, nuts, water, bottle ale “Toilets” in the corridors (buckets) or the river Smells: the industries, perfume, tobacco, garlic The hats Cutpurses, prostitutes, fights, riots

8. Special effects The blood, gore, limbs Trapdoors in floor and ceiling Wires, ropes and harnesses Cannon in the attic Fireworks Sound effects