Historical context, week 3.

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

In elizabethan England London was much smaller than we consider it today. London  was essentially what we would now consider just the 'city'. It was Busy, Crammed and Unsanitary. The lack of a sewage system meant chamber pots were being emptied out of windows onto the streets, making illness easy to spread. The population of London grew 400% between 1500 and 1600, it was over populated and houses held more than they were meant to withstand. London was however also the centre of the 'golden age' with it being the richest and biggest city in England at the time. The Golden Age was a time of creativity and originality meaning more people were involved in and interested by the arts. In London 20,000 people went to the theatre every week. The theatre was also made accessible to more people, and people of different social classes. At the globe you could see a play for 1 penny and stand In the 'groundlings' this 'yard' area was very much for the lower classes in society and it wasn't particular well kept of hygienic. Crime also occurred in this area and people could often be robed when watching the play. 

Other audience members could pay higher rates to have a seat in the theatre, this meant they were under shelter and away from the crime filled and unhygienic yard. Higher members in society would see the theatre as an opportunity to wear their finest clothes and to be seen. These people would usually sit in the galleries or if they had real money the 'lords rooms'. Audiences could also be very vocal about their feelings on a play, if they didn't like it they were known to have thrown things at the actors, to have damaged the theatre or to have used verbal abuse. 

During the Elizabethan times the audience numbers in theatres grew meaning plays had shorter runs and were replaced more often by new plays.