NEFLT Study Materials
Projekt Síť vzdělavatelů učitelů cizích jazyků NEFLT
registrační číslo CZ.1.07/2.4.00/31.0074
je součástí IPRM Ústí nad Labem Centrum.
Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a státním rozpočtem České republiky.
Elizabethan/Shakespearan
Theatre
The NEFLT Project 2013, UJEP Ústí nad Labem
Elizabethan Theatre
Prior to the building of
The Theatre, plays
were sometimes
staged in public halls,
the private houses of
aristocrats, or royal
palaces , but most
often they were acted
in the courtyards of
inns.
Elizabeth I , "Darnley Portrait", c. 1575 . Public domain.
THE FIRST ELIZABETHAN
THEATRICAL ENTREPRENEURS
James Burbage and his bother-in-law were
already experienced in staging plays in innyards.
They built the first theatre, appropriately
called 'The Theatre‚ in 1576.
They modified the features of the existing
blood sport rings (bear-baiting and cockfighting rings) with the addition of a fixed
stage
Bear-Baiting
For further details see Mabillard, Amanda. Entertainment in Elizabethan
England Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (Retrieved on 18/08/2013) <
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/entertainment.html>.
Elizabethan Theatre Innovations
Stage productions became more
sophisticated with the use of props
such as canons
Innovations enabled to produce special
effects - fireworks for dramatic battle
scenes and great 'flying' entrances.
Thus the Elizabethan theatrical
entrepreneurs created the theater that we
know today.
Famous Elizabethan Playwrights
and Authors
Thomas Kyd (1558 – 1594)
Christopher Marlow (1564 – 1593)
William Shakespeare (156.. – 1616)
and Shakespeare´s followers
Censorship
The subject matter of the plays would often be
vulgar and bawdy. The behaviour of some the
audience was the worse! The Globe Theatre didn’t
just show plays. It was also a bear pit, brothel and
gambling house.
Crime increased and following the performances
the crowds were noisy and unruly. The reputation of
actors was very bad.
Published plays soon required a licence, which
provided a form of censorship by the state.
The theatres are banned from
London City Limits
The objections to the theaters escalated and the Church,
London Officials and respectable citizens raised even more
objections to the theatres.
Reasons: gambling and bawdiness of plays.
Danger of the rise in crime and real risk of the crowded
theatres encouraging the spread of the plague.
In 1596 London's authorities banned the public presentation of
plays within the city limits of London.
The theaters were forced to move to the South side of the
River Thames.
The Original Globe Theatre
1599
1614
Source:The Old Globe theatre — a print of the original theatre in London. Created in 1642 by Wenceslas Hollar for
his Long View of London. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hollar_Long_View_detail.png
The Outside Picture of the Newly
Reconstructed Globe Theatre (1999)
Source (public domain): http://www.fmschmitt.com/pictures/london/bankside.htm
Characteristic Features
of the New Globe Architecture
The black and white colouring of the
building conveys perception of the
architecture
of Tudor &
Elizabethan England.
The thatched roof of the new Theatre is
another of its characteristic features.
The architecture of the New Globe is a
wonderful contribution to the architecture of
London - an image of the past mingling with
the modern architecture of the present.
Changes made by Shakespeare in
the Aristotelian form of tragedy
A problem-solving task for students:
Investigate what changes or
innovations in 16th century DRAMA
were introduced by Shakespeare.
Literature:
Bloom, H. (2004). Elizabethan drama. (Bloom´s Period Studies).
London: Chelsea House Publishers.
James Burbage - The Globe Online. (Retrieved on 18/08/2013) from
http://www.bardstage.org/james-burbage.htm
Mabillard, A. (2000). Entertainment in Elizabethan England
Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (Retrieved on 18/08/2013)
from http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/entertainment.html
Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. In-Yard Theatre Available online. Retrieved
on 05/01/2013 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inn-yard_theatre