elizabethan entertainment Flashcards
What four forms of entertainment were popular across all classes?
-dancing
-music
-singing
-gambling
What four forms of entertainment were popular with the poor?
-puppet shows
-hawkers
-conjurors
-trained animals
Cruel sports were enjoyed by all
-name the three most popular ones
-what did towns do during royal progresses?
-bear baiting, bull baiting and cock fighting
-Elizabeth loved cruel sports so whenever there was a progress towns would out on bear baiting
What 6 forms of entertainment were enjoyed by the rich?
-hunting
-archery
-hawking
-horse racing
-jousts
-feasts
What were bands of strolling players?
They were a group of actors who toured the country and performed plays for townspeople
Where did the bands of strolling players perform?
A courtyard, inn, market square
What were common themes of plays put on by a band of strolling players?
Robin Hood/poor triumphing over the rich
What were the reactions to the band of strolling players?
Authorities were worried because of the content of the plays
When were bands of strolling players banned unless they had a license to perform? Who did they get the license from?
-1572
-Lord Chamberlain
When was the globe built?
1599
Elizabeth loved the theater
-what was it used as
-give two examples of the themes/plots of these plays
-propaganda
-Shakespeare often included the theme of loyalty to the monarch and during conflict with Philip II anti-Spanish plays would be shown that showed Spanish soldiers killing Protestants
What opposition did Theatre face?
-the large crowds concerned authorities because of disease and pickpocketers
-puritans viewed it as sinful
Give a specific example of a bear-baiting arena and how many people it would accommodate and what it looked like
-‘Bear Garden’ in Paris Garden in Southwark, London
-up to 1,000 people
-circular with a central pit and thatched roof - copied the design of the early theatres
Give a piece of evidence that showed how much Elizabeth loved bear-baiting
MPs tried to pass a law in 1585 to ban bear-baiting on a Sunday but she overruled it
Archery: Men over the age of….
24 were expected to practice archery on a Sunday after church
Compare the dancing of the upper and lower classes
-lower classes = traditional country dances
-upper classes = musicians played foreign tunes like the slow paven or gavotte. One dance, the Volta, was often frowned upon as it involved the lady jumping into the air
Describe Elizabethan football
-no pitch, no proper goals, no limit on the number of players on each team
-finishing lines up to a mile apart, fights often erupted as you just had to get the ball to the other side by whatever means necessary
Give two examples of theater companies established to give the government control and to give the actors patrons?
-The Queen’s Men (est. 1583)
-The Lord Chamberlains Men (est. 1594)
When, where and by whom was the first purpose built theatre since Roman times built in England?
-James Burbage (actor-manager)
-1576
-called ‘The Theatre’
-Finsbury Fields at Shoreditch
When did The Rose theatre open?
1587
Who was the Globe built by?
James Burbage’s sons - Cuthburt and Richard
Describe and explain the design of theatres
-round, open space with jutting out raised stage, lime washed walls, thatched roof
-beneath stage = hell were evil spirits entered through a trap door
-the stage = earthly region
-above the stage = painted with stars sun and moon = heaven
How would a Londoner know if a show was about to be performed?
Flag was flown or cannon was sounded
How was the theatre made inclusive?
Cheap tickets for the pit, more expensive tickets for seats
Name one great dramatic actor and one who established a rep as comedian and acrobat
-Richard Burbage (Lear, Hamlet, Othello)
-Thomas Pope (colleague of Shakespeares)
Name three famous Elizabethan playwrights and a bit of info about them
-William Shakespeare = 37 plays, born Stratford-Upon-Avon
-Christopher Marlowe = developed the ‘tragedy’, famous for ‘Doctor Faustus’
-Thomas Kyd = pioneered the ‘revenge tragedy’
Give an example to prove that Elizabeth loved the theatre
She was at the first performance of the Twelfth Night in 1601
Give an example of a play used by the authorities as propaganda
-alarum for London
-showed catholic Spanish soldiers killing innocent Protestants in Antwerp
-frequently performed in the 1580s to generate an anti-Spanish feel
Due to opposition from authorities, many theatres had to …
Be built outside city walls
