LOCATION

When Shakespeare was 12 years old, it was built the first theatre in London. It was possible to build private and public playhouses and an organization of amateur and professional companies of players thanks to the popularity of all sorts of plays. The places where the plays were given by the strolling troupes were open squares of the town, in the courtyards of inns, in the halls of nobleman...

The streets were so crowded of people that, after the performance of the plays, loafers and beggars took advantage of this situation and it began to occur crimes. In 1576 it was published an order banning the performances in the city boundaries, but it was not enforced enough. The players were not allowed to establish in the city, but they could build their playhouses just on the other bankside.

The first theatre

The first theatre was called "The Theatre" and it was built in 1576 by the Earl of Leicester's Players. The design of this theatre was polygonal and it was made of wood. It had three galleries and the main area of the theatre was opened to the sky, with a great yard to let the spectators stand and see the function if they could not afford for a ticket.

In 1599 Burbage's sons had problems with the land and some disputes, so they decided to take all the timbres of The Theatre to build a new playhouse on bankside. It was called The Globe. In this theatre were performanced the firsts Shakespeare's plays.

Private and public theatres

Although the Globe was the most important Elizabethan theatre, there were built a lot of other theatres, each one different form the other. The theatres were divided into two main types: public and private. Public theatres, such as The Theatre, The Globe, The Curtain and the Swan, were opened to the air. Private theatres, such as Blackfriars and Cockpit, were smaller and more expensive than the public ones. They were built like a hall, rectangular, more similar to the theatres we know nowadays. They had a more exclusive audience. The cheapest seat cost sixpence. However, in the public theatre, a seat in the galleries cost two pence or a single pence to stand on the yard.

Elizabethan playhouses