Historical Context - Post 3

What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theatre?

In Elizabethan times, London was very different to how it is now. London was the most successful city in England. Between 1550 and 1600, London's population grew from, roughly, 50,000 residents to over 200,000; it was growing mostl because of migrants from the countryside and Europe. in large places in England, the poor lived in a certain part of the city occupied by minority groups (nowadays, we would refer to them as 'ghettos') where only the poor would go. In London, the rich would live in one part of the city as the poor lived towards the East. London was the biggest and richest city in England. Successful traders, manufacturers, and their workers lived there. Royalty also lived in London along with much of the nobility. The poor kept to themselves - They even developed their own form of language, called 'Canting', so that they could communicate without anyone knowing what they were talking about therefore giving them some kind of protection against the law. 

In terms of theatre, more men than women went to the theatre however all sorts of people paid visits. Shakespeare is well-known for writing in this era. By 1600, up to 20,000 people would visit the theatre a week. Although Shakespeare's work is famous for being shown at the Globe, the plays were also performed outside of London, although Shakespeare spent more of his working life in London. Theatre companies also toured around the country. Theatre was very different from today; actors had to do everything themselves - making costumes, etc. Servants and apprentices spent the majority of their spare time there along with many wealthy people in the audience however they refused to go to public theatres so they would pay for companies of actors to perform at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I.

To have a place amongst the 'groundlings', standing in the yard around the stage, would cost minimum one penny. For one extra penny, you could have a bench seat in the lower galleries (paying one more penny for a cushion). The 'Lord's Rooms' were the most expensive option to go the an open air theatre. Putting this cost into perspective, a loaf of bread would cost one penny therefore showing how to low cost was one of the main reasons to why the theatre was so popular. Food and drink was also  available (pippins, ale, etc). There were other forms of entertainment at the time (such as, cock-fighting and bear-baiting) therefore theatres had to compete for audiences. Another difference from theatre today is that most people didn't sit and watch the performances in silence.