Renaissance: Elizabethan Theatre and Shakespeare

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 5,6

RENAISSANCE

Elizabethan Theatre and Shakespeare

Take a guess: how many people could fit in a 16th century theatre?

1. 800
2. 1400
3. 2600
4. 3000

Take a guess: which
of these is the Globe
Theatre in London?

1. Left = Globe Theatre
2. Right = Globe Theatre

True or False: "Young boys dressed as girls played the female characters
in Shakespeare's plays."

1. True
2. False

English Renaissance Theatre

- Also known as: Elizabethan Theatre

- Blossomed between 1562-1642

- Popular under Elizabeth I's rule

Theatres

- Large theatre: up to 3000 people

- Wooden structures

- Open stage, no roof

- Raised stage, pit for watching

- People cheering, booing, throwing

- Dialogue important & costumes

- Little scenery or objects

William Shakespeare

- Born 1564

- Married to Anne Hathaway (not the actress)

- The Lord Chamberlain's Men

- 1599: performing at Globe Theatre

- Performed at Queen Elizabeth I's court 

Globe Theatre

- Opened in 1599

- Staged many of Shakespeare's plays

- Burned down in 1613

- Rebuilt in 1614

- English civil war: theatres broken down 

- Rebuilt again: 1997

- Only building in London with straw roof since Fire of 1666

Acting Groups

- Shakespeare: "Lord Chamberlain's Men"

- Performed 6 or more times a week

- Travelled around 

- Created their own costumes etc. 

- Very skilled: singing, dancing, acrobatics, play instruments, 

- Women were not allowed

Christopher Marlowe

- Another playwright 
- Born same year as Shakespeare

- A few plays influenced Shakespeare

- Arrested for atheism in his plays  

- Died 29, but many legends...
- Spy for the crown? 

- Recruited in college & worked overseas?  

Christopher Marlowe was born the same year as Shakespeare which was...?

1. 1544
2. 1564
3. 1584
4. 1574

Theatre blossomed during which period?

1. 1542-1582
2. 1582-1602
3. 1562-1642
4. 1572-1622

The Globe Theatre opened in...

1. 1589
2. 1599
3. 1584
4. 1594

16th Century Acting Group

21st Century Acting Group

Perform 6 plays a week

Perform 1 play a few times a week

Men & Women

Only Men

Create their own costumes

Do not create their own costumes

Most theatres in London were built of... ?

1. Steel
2. Wood
3. Stone
4. Bamboo

The Globe Theatre burned down in the year ....

1. 1606
2. 1613
3. 1625
4. 1631

For next week:

- Read the information about the Renaissance and Shakespeare