Audiences1

Answer prepared by: Olivia Williamson**
 * WHO WERE THEATRE-GOERS IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND? WHAT WAS AN AUDIENCE LIKE IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND? WHAT WAS THE THEATRE-GOING EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR NOBILITY, MERCHANT CLASS, AND COMMONERS?

The theater was an enchanting experience in Elizabethan England. The productions that were performed could make a person cry, laugh, and learn all in a few hours. Everyone from a poor apprentice to Queen Elizabeth I could enjoy the company of fellow theater-goers. According to Leslie Dunton-Downer and Alan Riding, the authors of __Essential Shakespeare Handbook,__ the theater was fantastic because it “cut across class lines” (20). After the building of the first public theater in 1576, the theater became a part of culture and society. Similar to the class system of society, the theater also contained this element. The wealthy and the poor were in two separate worlds. The comfort of a person’s viewing experience depended on their income and social class.

Theaters were very popular in Elizabethan England. Performances at the theater took place in the summer; theaters were opened in May. The plays were also in the afternoon, so that the natural light could be at its peak. The Globe was a very famous theatre in Elizabethan England, and Shakespeare had many ties to it. The Globe could accommodate 1500 people, according to the webpage “Globe Theatre Audience” from the William Shakespeare info site. On a busy day, this number rose to 3000, with 1500 on the inside, and the other half in the marketplace, a collection of shops, outside of the Globe. Even if a person was not going to the Globe to see a performance, they could wander around at the marketplace. The theater offered something for everyone.

The lowest class in society was the commoners. In the theater, they would pay 1 penny to stand in an open atrium. When the commoners entered the theater, they would place their penny in a box at the entrance. This is where we get the term “box office, according to the webpage “Globe Theatre Audience”. The one penny that commoners paid was about ten percent of their daily income. That penny earned these people a cramped standing place on the ground of the theater. These people became known as groundlings. However, the penny that they paid stretched to gain them more than a show. They were also exposed to fights, gambling, theft, and prostitution. In combination with the noise made from the theater-goers, actors had to compete for attention with walking vendors. The vendors strolled the theaters selling food and drink to the patrons. Also, there were no bathroom facilities, so people relieved themselves in the theater. Commoners put up with horrible conditions, which goes to show how much they loved the theater.

The wealthy were the highest class in society, as well as the theater. Both men and women enjoyed the theater, but affluent women were known to conceal their identities with masks. The nobles paid four pennies to sit in an area called the Gentlemen’s room. The Gentleman’s rooms had cushioned seats. These people were also known as the “gentry”. If a person wanted to be on the ground level, but have somewhere to sit, they paid two pennies. If they wanted to sit on a cushion in a comfortable place, the patron would pay three pennies. The aristocracy paid five pennies to sit in the Lord’s room. The Gentlemen’s rooms were to the left and right of the Lord’s rooms. Queen Elizabeth loved the theater, and the plays that she attended were performed in indoor playhouses, as Elizabeth would not have gone to an amphitheatre. The wealthy loved the theater just as much as the commoners, but the extra pennies that the wealthy paid made their viewing experience just that much more pleasurable.

Overall the theater was an experience to remember. Whether you were wealthy or poor, you could still laugh at Titania falling in love with Bottom. It didn’t matter if you lived in a mansion or not, you could still cry at Shakespeare’s tragedies. Theater was something that practically everyone had in common in Elizabethan England. The poor and the wealthy shed the same tear and laughed the same laughs. The theater was truly a thread that connected everyone, and made people realize that they weren’t that different from one another. The legend and legacy of Elizabethan theater lives on today and shall be remembered forever.

Dunton-Downer, Leslie, and Alan Riding. //Essential Shakespeare Handbook//. 1st. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 2004. 18-20. Print. “Elizabethan Theatre Facts”. //William-Shakespeare.info.//Web 4 Apr 2010. <[|http://www.william- shakespeare.info/elizabethan-theatre-facts.htm]>
 * Works Cited: **

"Globe Theatre Audience". //Globe-theatre.org.uk.// Web. 4 Apr 2010. <[|**http://www.globe-theatre.org.uk/globe-theatre-audience.htm*]>

"Globe Theatre Groundlings". //Globe-theatre.org.uk.// Web. 4 Apr 2010. <[|http://www.globe- theatre.org.uk/globe-theatre-groundlings.htm]>