The history of elizabethan theater
English Renaissance theatre
Theatre of England between and
The English Renaissance theatre or Elizabethan theatre was the theatre of England from to Its most prominent playwrights were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson.
Background
The term English Renaissance theatre encompasses the period between —following a performance of Gorboduc, the first English play using blank verse, at the Inner Temple during the Christmas season of —and the ban on theatrical plays enacted by the English Parliament in
In a strict sense "Elizabethan" only refers to the period of Queen Elizabeth's reign (–). English Renaissance theatre may be said to encompass Elizabethan theatre from to , Jacobean theatre from to , and Caroline theatre from to
Along with the economics of the profession, the character of the drama changed towards the end of the period. Under Elizabeth, the drama was a unified expression as far as social class was concerned: the Court watched the same plays the commoners saw in the public playhouses. With the development of the private theatres, drama became more oriented towards the tastes and values of an upper-class audience. By the later part of the reign of Charles I, few new plays were being written for the public theatres, which sustained themselves on the accumulated works of the previous decades.
Sites of dramatic performance
Grammar schools
The English grammar schools, like those on the continent, placed special emphasis on the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Though rhetorical instruction was intended as preparation for careers in civil service such as law, the rhetorical canons of memory (memoria) and delivery (pronuntiatio), gesture and voice, as well as exercises from the progymnasmata, such as the prosopopoeia, taught theatrical skills. Students would typically analyse Latin and Greek texts, write their own compositions, memorise them, and then perform them in front of their instruc
Elizabethan Theatre History
Elizabethan Theatre History
Interesting information about the Elizabethan Theatre History during the life and times of
William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre
Elizabethan Theatre History
Elizabethan theatre history is fascinating. How plays were first produced in the yards of inns - the Inn-yards. The very first theatre and the development of the amphitheatre! The Elizabethan Entrepreneurs ( the men with the ideas and the money!). The building, design and construction of the Globe. The builders! The location! The plays, the playwrights, the politics and the propaganda all play an important part in Elizabethan theatre history. The great success of the theatre and the part that the Puritans played in its downfall - the ups and downs of Elizabethan theatre history.
The history of the Elizabethan Theatre is a short and turbulent one. The success and popularity shown by Elizabethan theatre history during the life of William Shakespeare is an outstanding success story for the theatrical entrepreneurs of the era. The Elizabethan period saw the rise in the popularity of theatres and during this time the staging of plays moved from renovated inn-yards to the building of huge out door amphitheatres, such as the Globe, which were used for the summer seasons and the building or renovation of indoor theatres, used in the Winter seasons and by royalty, called Playhouses. The Elizabethan Theatre history started in and continued in England until the Protestants came to power. By Elizabethan theatres and playhouses were ordered to be pulled down, all actors to be seized and whipped, and anyone caught attending a play to be fined five shillings - but this was not the end of the Elizabethan theatre history!
Key Events in Elizabethan Theatre History
The key events in Elizabethan Theatre history are as follows:
- In James Burbage (father of the actor, Richard Burbage) started the Elizabethan theatre history&n
- Elizabethan theatre essay
History of the Elizabethan Theatre
- Interesting Facts and information about History of the Elizabethan Theatre
- Elizabethan Theatre History - the Inn-yards, Amphitheatres and Playhouses
- Elizabethan Audiences, Plays and Playwrights
- Actors, Theatre Companies and Troupes
Picture of Queen Elizabeth I
History of the Elizabethan Theatre
History of the Elizabethan Theatre
The History of the Elizabethan Theatre started with the Wandering minstrels who moved from one castle and town to to the next.Any strangers were treated with suspicion during the Elizabethan era, and this also applied to wandering actors, especially when many horrific outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague were occurring. The reputations of Elizabethan actors were that of vagabonds and thieves.
Travelling throughout the era was restricted and required a license. Regulations restricting actors soon followed and Licenses were granted to the nobles of England for the maintenance of troupes of players. Thus the Elizabethan Acting Troupes were formed and the History of the Elizabethan Theatre started.
The History of the Elizabethan Theatre - the Inn-yards
The travelling actors played to their audiences in the courtyards of taverns - called inn-yards. Temporary stages had to be erected and the actors moved around from one venue to the next. The biggest of the Inn-yards had a maximum capacity of people. There were no purpose built theaters until when a theatrical entrepreneur called James Burbage (father of the actor, Richard Burbage) decided to capitalize on the growing popularity of plays.James Burbage obtained a lease and permission to build 'The Theatre' in Shoreditch, London. The Lord Chamberlain's Men use it from to and thus begins of the History of the Elizabethan Theatre.
The History of the Elizabethan Theatre - the Ampitheaters
The 'Theatre' was built in a similar style to the Roman Coliseum, but on a smaller- Elizabethan theatre pdf
Elizabethan theatre
Richard Burbage, along with Edward Alleyn, was the most successful actor of Elizabethan theatre. The son of James Burbage, owner of the Theatre at Shoreditch, he performed more leading roles in the major plays of the time than any other actor. They included the original performances of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Richard III, as well as lead roles in Ben Jonson’s Volpone and The Alchemist.
The late 16 century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, was the first great blossoming of London theatre, providing a platform for the talents of playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Yet the playhouses of the time were located outside of the City in the expanding suburbs.
The dominant theatrical tradition in England during the Middle Ages was ‘mystery’ plays. These were moralistic dramas based on the Bible and usually performed in churches or on temporary stages at seasonal fairs by amateur actors or members of guilds. After the Reformation they were viewed as Catholic mysticism and therefore fell out of favour. In their place came secular productions, normally performed by strolling players at inns.
During the 16 century there were a number of inns in the London area built around courtyards overlooked by galleries. By the middle of the century some of these, such as the Saracen’s Head at Islington and the Boar’s Head outside Aldgate, were being used as a venue for the performance of plays. (The only remaining example of those types of inn in London is the George at Borough High Street). Jerome Savage of the Earl of Warwick’s Company of actors converted a building for performances at the well-to-do suburb of Newington Butts to the south of London, sometime before It was known as the Playhouse, from the medieval word ‘pleghows’. It finally closed in
As the popularity of plays grew during the Elizabethan era restrictions on actors and the content of plays were tightened. An Act of Parliament