Elizabethan Theatre

Question 1

What were the galleries?

Answer 1

Seats under the roof, for upper classes

Question 2

What was the Juliet balcony?

Answer 2

The most expensive seats in the theatre, for rich people who wanted to avoid the Plague from the working classes

Question 3

What was the pit?

Answer 3

Standing area for working class people, often contained hecklers, drunk, and pickpockets
Open roof, unprotected from rain
Cheap tickets for 1p

Question 4

What were Gentlemen’s Rooms?

Answer 4

Seats costing 4p, under the roof, for rich upper classes

Question 5

What was acting like before theatres?

Answer 5

• Actors performed in communal spaces (inns)
• Small audiences
• Stories taken from the Bible

Question 6

What was patronage?

Answer 6

Some theatre companies were given funding by nobility (who wanted to show off their culture and please Elizabeth)

Question 7

Why were theatres useful to Elizabeth and her Privy Council?

Answer 7

They reduced the risk of rebellion by giving people entertainment / distraction

Question 8

Who opposed theatres?

Answer 8

• Puritans
• Local London authorities

Question 9

Name some theatres built during this time

Answer 9

• The Curtain
• The Rose
• The Globe
• The Swan

Question 10

Who built the first permanent theatre?

Answer 10

Robert Dudley (Earl of Leicester)

Question 11

What could you do in the theatres?

Answer 11

• Socialise
• Purchase refreshments
• Business networking
• Show off wealth (seats)

Question 12

How many theatres were there by the end of Elizabeth’s reign?

Answer 12

7 theatres
40 acting companies

Question 13

What were strolling players?

Answer 13

Wandering groups of actors, very unpopular with authorities due to their non-religious themes
Authorities tried to ban them

Question 14

What were the four main themes of plays put on in Elizabeth theatres?

Answer 14

• Subtle propaganda to flatter Elizabeth
• Great Chain of Being
• Tudor’s legacy
• Belief in witchcraft

Question 15

Why did Puritans oppose the theatre?

Answer 15

• Distraction from God
• Promoted sinful habits such as drinking heavily and witchcraft

Question 16

Why and how did the London authorities oppose the theatre?

4 points

Answer 16

• Considered travelling actors vagabonds
• Worried plays would incite rebellion
• Banned plays that addressed political issues
• By 1596, all plays within the City were banned

Question 17

Why did the London authorities oppose strolling players?

Answer 17

• They were concerned that plays such as Robin Hood would incite rebellion
• Believed they spread the Plague

Question 18

Why were Elizabethan theatres so popular?

5 reasons

Answer 18

• Pricing strategies
• No need to read or write
• Range of genres (comedies, tragedies, etc.)
• Elizabeth enjoyed and encouraged acting
• The nobility could show off their wealth

Question 19

What were people who stood in the Pit known as?

Answer 19

Groundlings

Question 20

Name 3 features of Elizabethan theatre

Answer 20

• Plays had to be performed in daylight
• Women not allowed to act
• Long speeches gave actors a chance to change clothes
• Lots of violence in Elizabethan plays

Question 21

Why were theatres popular with the nobility?

Answer 21

Showed off their wealth by getting seats in the balconies
Patronage - showed off their wealth, importance, and culture

Question 22

Name 3 Elizabethan playwrights

Answer 22

Shakespeare
Marlowe
Jonson

Question 23

Why were theatres popular with poor people?

Answer 23

Cheap tickets

Question 24

When the Elizabethan authorities banned theatres in London, how did theatre companies react?

Answer 24

• Theatres were built outside the City walls
• This area had a bad reputation for crime (pickpockets, brothels, etc.)

Question 25

When did the Elizabethan government ban theatres in London?

Answer 25

1596