myShakespeare | Elizabethan Theater

Summary

The script transports viewers to 1600 London, detailing the rise of Elizabethan theatre with Shakespeare's Lord Chamberlain's Men and the Globe. It explores the birth of modern English theatre from public inns to purpose-built venues like Burbage's The Theater. Discussing societal views, from opposition by officials and Puritans to the capitalist boom in playwriting, the script highlights theatre's impact on culture, identity, and the human condition, reflected in plays that blend comedy, history, and tragedy.

Takeaways

• 🎭 The Elizabethan theatre, particularly during Shakespeare's time, was a significant cultural and economic phenomenon, with the Globe Theatre being a prime example of its success.
• 🚀 Shakespeare, along with eight other actors, founded the Lord Chamberlains' Men, which became the most successful acting company in London.
• 🏟️ Prior to the establishment of purpose-built theatres, plays were performed in public inns like the Boar's Head Inn, where actors were compensated by innkeepers for boosting alcohol sales.
• 👷‍♂️ James Burbage, often referred to as the father of English theatre, was inspired by Roman theatres and the business model of bear baiting arenas to build The Theater, which could accommodate around 2000 spectators.
• 🏛️ The design of Elizabethan theatres like the Globe featured an open-air, semicircular structure with tiered galleries for seating and a stage area where spectators could stand for a penny.
• 💵 The theatre industry was a burgeoning part of the British economy, representing the rise of capitalism and free enterprise, with acting companies like the Lord Chamberlain's Men being successful businesses.
• 🎩 Actors in Elizabethan theatres were often shareholding members of a company, sharing in the profits after fixed expenses and a percentage to the theatre owners, which could be quite lucrative.
• 📚 The demand for new plays was high, leading to the emergence of professional playwrights, including the University Wits and other writers, who were often well-educated and could make a living from their craft.
• 📈 The theatre industry's success relied on frequent rotations of plays to attract repeat customers, with companies like the Lord Chamberlain's Men performing up to 30 different plays in a year.
• 🤔 The Elizabethan theatre was a subject of debate, with some viewing it as a renaissance of literary expression and others, like the Puritans, seeing it as idle and immoral entertainment.
• 🌟 Shakespeare's works, particularly his tragedies, comedies, and histories, had a profound impact on society, reflecting and shaping the English national identity and the evolving sense of self in an increasingly complex world.

Q & A

What was the Elizabethan theatre like during Shakespeare's time?

The Elizabethan theatre during Shakespeare's time was characterized by open-air, semi-circular structures like the Globe, which was the home of the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Performances were held during daylight hours due to the lack of artificial lighting, and the audience could stand in the yard for a penny or pay an additional penny to sit in the galleries.

How did James Burbage contribute to the development of English theatre?

James Burbage, a carpenter by trade, is often referred to as the father of English theatre. He designed and built The Theatre, an open-air structure specifically for play performances, which could accommodate an audience of around 2000. This innovation led to the birth of the modern English theatre.

What was the social and economic context of theatre in 16th century England?

In 16th century England, theatre was a burgeoning industry that faced opposition from London officials and Puritans due to concerns about crime, public health, and moral issues. Despite these challenges, theatres like the Globe thrived, becoming a significant part of the economy and reflecting the emerging capitalist and free enterprise system.

Why were plays performed in the daytime during the Elizabethan era?

Plays were performed in the daytime because it was not practical to artificially illuminate the large space of the theatres. Most of the roof was left open, and performances were scheduled during daylight hours to avoid the need for artificial lighting.

How did the Lord Chamberlain's Men become successful enough to construct their own theatre?

The Lord Chamberlain's Men became successful by attracting large audiences and becoming the only acting company at the time that was able to construct their own theatre, the Globe. This allowed them to keep all the profits without having to share with a theatre landlord.

What was the role of a 'sharer' in an Elizabethan acting company?

A 'sharer' in an Elizabethan acting company was a shareholding member who was an equal business partner. After paying a fixed percentage of the box office to the theatre owners and covering fixed expenses, any remaining profits were split among the sharers.

Why did Elizabethan theatres rotate plays frequently?

Elizabethan theatres rotated plays frequently to attract repeat customers. With a smaller potential audience compared to modern cities, theatres needed to offer a large selection of plays to entice people to return and see different performances.

How did the demand for new plays affect the profession of playwrights during the Elizabethan era?

The demand for new plays was so high that it led to the emergence of the first professional writers who could make a living solely from their writing. This demand also led to an increase in the number of plays being produced, with some writers resorting to an assembly line production process to meet deadlines.

What was the significance of the University Wits in the early professional theatre?

The University Wits were a group of playwrights who were graduates of Oxford or Cambridge. They contributed to the early professional theatre by writing plays, often in a grand, literary style. However, they were also known for their snobbish attitude towards actors and their disdain for those who came from less privileged backgrounds.

How did the Elizabethan theatre reflect societal changes of the time?

The Elizabethan theatre reflected societal changes by presenting plays that commented on the silliness and vanities of society, instructed on the country's past, and helped create a sense of English national identity. It also caused audiences to reflect on their internal struggles and external dilemmas in an increasingly complex world, and it highlighted the evolving sense of self and societal roles.

Outlines

00:00

🎭 The Birth of English Theatre

This paragraph discusses the origins of the Elizabethan theatre during Shakespeare's time, highlighting the journey from public inns like the Boar's Head Inn to the establishment of the Lord Chamberlains' Men acting company and the construction of the Globe Theatre. It details how James Burbage, inspired by ancient Roman theatres and the popularity of bear baiting, built The Theater, which could accommodate a much larger audience than inns. The paragraph also touches on the societal opposition to theatres, including concerns about crime, public health, and moral issues raised by Puritans.

05:01

🎟️ The Globe Theatre and the Business of Acting

The second paragraph provides an in-depth look at the Globe Theatre, its admission fee, and the structure of the Elizabethan theatre-going experience. It explains the financial model of the acting companies, where actors were shareholding members and profits were split after expenses. The paragraph also discusses the competitive landscape among acting companies and their reliance on noble patrons for names but not for financial support. The high demand for new plays and the rise of professional playwrights, including the University Wits, are also covered, along with the challenges of producing a large number of plays annually.

10:01

📜 The Impact of Theatre on Elizabethan Society

The final paragraph delves into the cultural significance of the Elizabethan theatre, examining its role in shaping English national identity and societal perceptions. It contrasts the views of the University Wits, who saw theatre as a high form of literary expression, with the Puritans, who considered it immoral entertainment. The paragraph also explores the transformative effect of theatre on the audience's sense of self and society, drawing parallels between the acting profession and the evolving social roles of the time. It concludes with a reflection on Shakespeare's metaphor of life as a stage, where individuals play multiple roles throughout their lives.

Keywords

💡Elizabethan theatre

The Elizabethan theatre refers to the style of performance and structure of theatres during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, most famously associated with Shakespeare. It was characterized by open-air playhouses, such as the Globe Theatre, and performances during daylight. The video emphasizes how theatre evolved during this period, establishing itself as a central part of English culture despite opposition from authorities and religious groups.

💡Lord Chamberlain's Men

The Lord Chamberlain's Men was the acting company that Shakespeare co-founded and where he spent most of his career. This group is highlighted in the script as one of the most successful in London, known for performing at the Globe Theatre. They attracted large audiences, and the success of this company played a pivotal role in the rise of professional theatre during the Elizabethan era.

💡Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre was a famous playhouse in London, built by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed. The video describes how it was an innovative structure, designed specifically for theatrical performances, accommodating around 2000 people. It is a symbol of the booming theatre industry of the time and reflects the commercial success of Shakespeare's acting company.

💡James Burbage

James Burbage was a key figure in the development of English theatre and is referred to as the 'father of the English language theatre.' The video explains that he built the first permanent theatre in London, called 'The Theatre,' drawing inspiration from Roman architecture and bear-baiting arenas. His innovation laid the foundation for modern English theatre.

💡Bear baiting

Bear baiting was a popular form of entertainment in 16th-century England, involving a bear being attacked by dogs. The video uses this as a comparison to early theatres, noting that the architecture of bear-baiting arenas influenced the design of playhouses like The Theatre. It was a brutal sport enjoyed by all social classes, including royalty, reflecting the era's tastes for public spectacles.

💡Puritans

Puritans were a religious group in England that strongly opposed the theatre, believing it was immoral. They objected to actors portraying roles contrary to their gender or status and saw theatre as idleness. The video mentions that their opposition was a significant obstacle for the theatre, as they condemned it on both moral and ethical grounds, representing the religious divide of the time.

💡Bubonic plague

The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, was a devastating disease that frequently caused the closure of theatres in London. The video explains that outbreaks of the plague, which killed large portions of the population, led to the banning of public gatherings, including theatrical performances. This had a profound impact on the lives of actors and the theatre industry.

💡University Wits

The University Wits were a group of educated playwrights from Oxford and Cambridge who were among the first professional writers in England. The video discusses how they initially dominated the early playwriting scene but were critical of actors like Shakespeare, whom they viewed as uneducated. Their elitism is contrasted with Shakespeare's success, which transcended their class bias.

💡Shareholding actors

Shareholding actors were performers who were not just employees but business partners in their acting company. The video explains that in the Elizabethan theatre, actors who became 'sharers' would split profits after expenses, providing them with financial stability. This business model contrasts with modern practices and illustrates the entrepreneurial spirit of Elizabethan theatre.

💡Capitalism

Capitalism is presented in the video as a driving force behind the flourishing of the Elizabethan theatre industry. The acting companies operated as free enterprises, with financial independence from noble patrons. The success of companies like the Lord Chamberlain's Men reflects the rise of capitalism in 16th-century England, where profit became an essential aspect of cultural enterprises.

Highlights

Travel back to London in 1600 to explore the Elizabethan theatre during Shakespeare's time.

Shakespeare, in his late 30s, is at the midpoint of his career and has founded the Lord Chamberlains' Men.

The Lord Chamberlains' Men becomes the most successful acting company in London.

The Globe theatre is introduced as the new home of the Lord Chamberlains' Men.

25 years prior, no proper theatres existed in London; plays were performed in public inns.

James Burbage, an actor and entrepreneur, is credited as the father of English language theatre.

Burbage's business model for theatres was inspired by the popularity of bear baiting arenas.

The Theater, built by Burbage, could accommodate an audience of around 2000, marking the birth of modern English theatre.

By 1600, the theatre industry in London has grown to include five or six large theatres.

London officials oppose theatres, citing concerns about crime, public health, and morality.

The bubonic plague leads to periodic bans on public gatherings, including theatre performances.

Puritans oppose theatre on moral grounds, including the portrayal of women by young male actors.

The Globe Theatre's admission fee of one penny was more than the average hourly wage.

Elizabethan theatres operate during daylight hours due to the lack of artificial lighting.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men becomes the only acting company to build its own theatre, the Globe.

Shakespeare and his fellow sharers earn the equivalent of about $1 million a year each.

The theatre industry represents the emergence of capitalism and free enterprise in Britain.

Shakespeare's company performs a rotation of plays to attract repeat customers.

The demand for new plays leads to the emergence of professional playwrights.

Shakespeare's company commissions 40 plays a year, reflecting the theatre's dominance in English culture.

Theatre of the Elizabethan era changed the audience's perception of themselves and society.

Shakespeare's plays reflect the societal shift towards role-playing and evolving identities.

Transcripts

In order to give you a sense of what the Elizabethan theatre

was like during Shakespeare's time,

Sarah and I have decided to travel back in time to London

in the year 1600.

Shakespeare is in his late 30s and about halfway

through his professional career.

Six years earlier, Shakespeare, along with eight other actors,

founded the Lord Chamberlains' Men,

which has since established itself

as the most successful acting company in London.

They recently moved into their new theatre, the Globe,

which we are going to visit but not just yet.

Had we traveled back in time just 25 years earlier,

we wouldn't have found any building in London that you

could properly call a theatre or playhouse.

The few plays that were then performed

took place in the kind of establishment

that you see behind us, the Boar's Head Inn.

There were five or six of these large public inns

around London.

And in the large central courtyard,

the proprietor occasionally arranged entertainment

for his customers which sometimes consisted

of a troop of actors who received compensation

from the innkeeper for boosting alcohol sales,

along with whatever they could collect from the audience.

One of these itinerant actors was

one of those rare men who changed history

by combining an inspired vision with entrepreneurial skill.

His name was James Burbage.

And with only slight exaggeration,

he has been called the father of the English language theatre.

Burbage may have been inspired by ancient Rome whose grandest

theatres were among the empire's most impressive architectural

monuments, seating over 10,000 spectators and whose leading

dramatist, Seneca, was both a renowned philosopher

and a leading statesman.

But James Burbage, a carpenter by trade,

was nothing, if not a practical businessman.

And his business model probably came

from an immensely popular and profitable form

of entertainment at the time--

bear baiting.

Here we are inside the Paris Garden,

one of the more famous bear baiting arenas.

A bear would be chained to a stake

in the middle of the ring.

And then a pack of hunting dogs were set loose to attack it.

To our modern sensibilities, bear baiting

is a repugnant blood sport.

But in 16th century England, it was

big business and popular with all the social classes.

Even Queen Elizabeth enjoyed entertaining foreign

dignitaries with bear baiting at Whitehall Palace.

With bear baiting arenas as a starting point,

Burbage designed and built a structure specifically

for the performance of plays.

He called it The Theater, a word that, at the time,

referred to those open-air semicircular stone arenas,

the Romans used.

Burbage's theatre could accommodate an audience

of around 2000, many times more than a public inn.

And when his acting company took up permanent residence there,

the modern English theatre was born.

By 1600, the theatre industry's flourishing,

boasting five or six large theatres similar

to Burbage's original design.

But not everyone looks favorably on this new form

of public entertainment.

London officials oppose the theatres and eventually banned

the performance of all plays anywhere inside official city

limits.

One of their concerns is that the theatres attract

the criminal class.

[VOMITING SOUNDS]

Psst-- how about an ounce of pure Virginia tobacco?

Just 3 shillings.

No thanks, we're good.

Another concern is with public health and for good reason.

With no sewage system to speak of,

London is a filthy, unhygienic, overcrowded city.

The worst disaster to ever afflict Europe

occurred two centuries earlier when the bubonic plague first

arrived.

Within two years, it killed almost half the population

of Europe.

Periodic outbreaks of the plague continued

to ravage European cities all the way up

until the 19th century.

Three years from now, in the summer of 1603,

one such outbreak will kill 38,000 Londoners,

20% of the city's population.

Though it will be centuries before the exact cause

of bubonic plague is understood, a bacteria that resides

in rats and their fleas.

Officials know the disease spreads easily.

So when the death count reaches a certain level,

all large public gatherings are banned.

Three times during Shakespeare's career,

the theatres will be closed for periods ranging from several

months to two years.

But in addition to concerns about crime and public health,

some Londoners opposed the new theatres on moral grounds.

Just as in America today, Elizabethan Society

had a small but vocal religious right--

militants from the new fundamentalist sect

of Christianity, Protestantism.

These Puritans, as they were called,

think it's against God's natural order for men

to portray what they are not, particularly,

for young boy actors to dress as women for the female roles.

And their Protestant work ethic is

offended by actors who create nothing of tangible value,

and what's worse, who seduce real workers to idle away

their time in mere entertainment.

Despite all these obstacles, the theatres have prospered.

Let's step inside the Globe and see what one is like.

[CHIME SOUND]

To prevent the doorkeepers from pocketing some of the receipts,

the spectators dropped their penny admission fee

through this slot.

One penny doesn't sound like much.

But it's a little more than the average hourly wage

and equal to about twice what we'd pay for a movie ticket.

For that penny, you get to stand in this area in front

of the stage, while the more well-to-do,

pay an additional penny to sit in these tiered galleries.

It's a lot like what we call a theatre in the round until you

look up.

Since it's not practical to artificially illuminate

this large space, it's necessary to leave most of the roof open

and schedule performances during daylight.

And since this is London, that makes

for a lot of damp performances.

As we mentioned, the Globe is the permanent home

of the acting company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men.

Unlike the modern theatre where actors are hired

for a particular play, an actor, in the Elizabethan theatre,

tried to become a shareholding member of a permanent acting

company where he likely would stay for his entire career.

These sharers, as they're called,

are equal business partners in the enterprise.

After giving a fixed percentage of the box office

to the theatre owners and the fixed expenses are paid,

the sharers split any remaining profits among themselves.

Acting companies with poor attendance

have meager or non-existent profits.

But if the acting company is popular,

them both the theatre owner and sharers do quite well.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men attract huge audiences

and become the only acting company successful enough

to construct their own theatre, which means they don't have

to share any profits with a theatre landlord.

Now that the Globe has opened, Shakespeare

and his fellow sharers are each earning the equivalent

of about $1 million a year.

Not bad for the son of a glovemaker

who arrived in London 12 years earlier with little education,

money, or contacts.

But the Lord Chamberlain's Men faces stiff competition

from other companies such as the Queen's Men and the Admiral's

Men.

You've probably surmised from the company names

that each one of these is associated

with a powerful nobleman.

But these noble patrons have, essentially,

no artistic or financial relationship

with the companies.

In fact, this new theatre industry is representative

of an emerging and soon-to-be vital part of the British

economy-- capitalism and free enterprise.

So how do Shakespeare's company entice the average Londoner

to pay an hour's wages, give up an afternoon of work,

and stand up through a three-hour performance

in the drizzling rain?

One clue is this week's schedule here at the Globe--

five different plays.

In fact, Shakespeare and his fellow actors

are currently performing nine plays in rotation.

And before this year's out, they will have

performed 30 different plays.

To a modern actor, who performs one play at a time

and maybe five in a year, this is an almost unimaginable feat

of memory and a reminder to us of how important oral culture

was in Shakespeare's day.

So why this frequent rotation of plays in Elizabethan theatres?

It's all in the numbers.

With their surrounding population and a large number

of tourists, modern day New York and London

can each draw on a potential audience of about 20 million.

But the population of 1,600 London is only 1%

of that, about the size of current day Grand

Rapids, Michigan.

So while a play in New York can run for four months,

playing to a new audience every night,

the Globe Theatre has to attract repeat customers by offering

a large selection of plays.

But where do all these plays come from?

Since the industry is still young,

there isn't a large repertoire of old classics to draw upon.

So the acting companies need to commission new plays--

lots of them-- but by whom?

Though the printing press was invented

over a century earlier, and the publishing industry

has grown steadily ever since, it's

only now that we see the emergence

of the first professional writers.

That is men able to make a living just from their writing.

This development is due in large part

to the huge demand for new plays by the acting companies

and to their ability to pay handsomely for them.

Initially, this new writing profession

was composed mainly of a group we've

come to call the University Wits,

because they were graduates of either Oxford or Cambridge.

You might think that university students

during this period come from the very wealthy classes.

But a few, like our new dramatists,

came from modest families and had

to make a living from their education.

They found that writing plays was much more lucrative

than being a school headmaster.

And at least two of them, Robert Greene and Christopher Marlowe,

found it much more fun reveling in that tawdry underworld

across the Thames River where their new benefactors were

located.

Thinking of themselves as following

in the footsteps of the famous ancient Greek and Roman poets,

the group wrote grand tragedies about heroic historical figures

often favoring rhetorical style of a literary substance.

They were also a pretty snobbish bunch.

Robert Greene, in a letter addressed to his fellow

writers, publicly denounced theatre actors or players,

as they were called, as uneducated journeyman.

And he singled out one actor in particular,

disdainfully labeling him a theatrical jack

of all trades, a Johannes factotum,

for having the audacity to attempt to write plays as well

as act in them.

For there is an upstart crow beautified with our feathers

that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a player's

hide supposes he is, as well, able

to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you.

And being an absolute Johannes factotum

is, in his own conceit, the only Shake scene in a country.

That upstart crow is, of course, the new kid

in town, William Shakespeare.

But the demand for new plays is much too large

to be limited by class prejudice or academic credentials.

So by this time, London has an eclectic group

of professional playwrights cranking out 40 plays a year

for sale to the acting companies.

With pressing deadlines and so much money to be made,

it's not surprising that some writers resorted to an assembly

line production process.

Like a writing team for television shows,

they start with a formulaic plot and then divide up

the scenes for quick writing.

As you might guess, the results are often less than memorable.

[CROWD BOOING]

While on the other end of the quality spectrum, you have--

well-- Shakespeare.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men were lucky enough

to count on their talented in-house playwright for two

excellent plays each year.

So almost overnight, the theatre has established itself

as a dominant part of English culture.

But is it, as the University Witt's have proclaimed,

a renaissance of the highest form of literary expression?

Or is it, as the Puritans protest, something

akin to bear baiting--

just idle and immoral entertainment

for the emerging middle class?

One thing's for sure.

The Elizabethan theatre changed the way its audience saw

themselves and the world around them.

Comedies pointed out the silliness and vanities

in their society.

The histories instructed them on their country's past

and helped create, for the first time,

a sense of English national identity.

And the tragedies caused them to reflect

on the internal struggles and external dilemmas

they faced in an increasingly uncertain and complex world.

On an even deeper level, one could argue that this rebirth

of theatre reflected a change in our very sense of self.

Society was becoming more and more a place

where we put on roles where, like an actor,

we have to step into new and evolving identities.

Unlike the Middle Ages where everyone

had a fixed place in society, the early modern society

of Shakespeare's time was starting

to allow movement among roles.

And as a result, the experience of a gap between our deepest

sense of self and how we might appear to those around us.

Shakespeare's character, Hamlet, has this exact kind of problem.

Is he simply a prince who must avenge his father's death

like all princes should?

Or is he his own person--

free to choose how he will be in the world?

As Shakespeare, himself, puts it in his play, as you like it,

all the world's a stage.

And all men and women merely players.

They have their exits and their entrances.

And one man in his time plays many parts.

Looks like it's back to the 21st century for us.

Let's ask our audience what they think--

is the world a stage?

What parts will you play?

[BUS MOTOR NOISE]