QUESTION: What were the theatres or ‘playhouses’ of Shakespeare’s time like and how were plays staged in them?
In Shakespeare's time, plays had to be versatile as there were many different kinds of spaces to be performed in: Small indoor playhouse, outdoors, large theatres and even royal palace's! The playwright's used vivd words instead of scenery to picture the scene onstage. In 1576, James Burbarge built The Theatre just outside London. The Theatre was one of the first playhouses in England since Roman times. It was a multi-sided structure with a central, roofless yard surrounded by three stages of covered seating and a bare raised stage at one end of the yard. Audiences could pay for seating at different price levels and cheaper ticket bearers stood for the entire play.
All parts were played by men and sometimes the clown parts were played by famous comics as a sort of crowd pleaser. Some actors even had to fence onstage which required great skill. Costumes were not necessarily accurate and most were designed to be more easy on the eye than actually practical. The bare stages of Shakespeare's day had little or no scenery except for objects required by the plot, like a throne, a grave, or a bed. Actors could descend from the "heavens" above the stage or enter and exit from the "hell" below through a trapdoor. Characters described as talking from "above" might appear in galleries midway between the stage and the heavens.
QUESTION: Who were the actors of Shakespeare’s plays and how did the experience of being an actor differ from the experience today?
The life of actors in Shakespeare's plays changed dramatically during his lifetime. At first, they were in touring companies, travelling the country to perform in towns, cities and private homes. By the time Shakespeare died, London had several permanent theatres where the actors performed, drawing in huge audiences. despite the popularity of play-going, the acting profession had a bad reputation. Actors were seen as unruly and a threat to a peaceful society.
The profession was only open to boys and men. In the rest of Europe there were women acting but they weren't allowed to act in public theatres until 1660. In an Elizabethan production boys would play the female parts, like Ophelia in Hamlet or Desdemona in Othello, whilst occasionally men would play the older women. Many actors began their careers as young boys. They could join a company as an apprentice and be taught by one of the more senior actors within the company. They were expected to be able to sword fight, sing and dance as well as a good memory for remembering lines. Company sizes varied depending on where they were based and how much money they had. A wealthy company, when working in a theatre, might have 8– 12 senior members called sharers, 3–4 boys, a number of hired players (hired men) and then stage hands, tiremen (who would help the actors dress back stage) and some musicians. Most companies were based in London and used permanent theatres. Sometimes the theatres were closed, for example when there was a plague in the
city, and so companies would then go on tour. Mostly they toured England, but companies did also go abroad, particularly to the Netherlands and Germany.
Many theatre companies operated a shareholder system. Shakespeare was a sharer of the Chamberlain’s Men, later the King’s Men, and so shared the costs and also the profits the company made. Companies made more money in London than in the country. In 1597 the actor William Kendall was paid 10 shillings a week in London but only 5 shillings in the country.
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