Elizabethan Theatre

Elizabethan Theatre
Why was Elizabeth’s reign such an important
period in the development of the theatre?
How does it still influence us today?
Introduction
Throughout the middle ages plays were performed by
workers in towns and were religious based, often
retelling stories from the Bible.
However, this ended after Henry VIII’s break from
Rome and formation of the Church of England in
1533.
Therefore playwrights took inspiration from the
Roman theatre and writers like Seneca, who wrote
about crime, revenge, witches and ghosts.
Elizabethan writers introduced theatre audiences to
horror, the supernatural and GORE…
Elizabethan Playwrights
The most well known playwright of
Elizabethan times is Shakespeare. But
there were also other writers who in
their time were just as, or even more
famous than the Bard.
Christopher Marlowe
v
Born 1564
v Studied at King's School, Canterbury and Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge with scholarships.
v
For many years served the Elizabethan secret service as a spy
involved with several extremely confidential missions.
v
Had several brushes with the law, including being involved in an
“affray which resulted in someone’s death”, arranging the counterfeit of
some coins and “failing to keep the peace” with two constables.
v
In May 1593 he was involved in a scandal when his room-mate
and fellow playwright Thomas Kyd was found with heretical papers.
Under torture, Kyd claimed they were Marlowe’s, and accused him of
atheism.
v
However, before the Privy Council took definite action on these
charges Marlowe was stabbed in a tavern brawl on the 30th May 1593
and died aged 29.
OR DID HE?
Marlowe’s Murder
v According to the inquest Marlowe met with three men, Frizer,
Skeres and Poley in a tavern in Deptford. They stayed there all day
until an argument broke out and Frizer stabbed Marlowe in the eye out
of self-defence.
v But there are several strange things about the murder. Why did
Marlowe agree to visit three men he had never met before? How come
a friendly meeting got so out of hand?
v If it was a murder that had been planned in advance, why had they
spent the whole day there? Why hadn’t they of just waited for him to be
executed under the charges of atheism?
v If there wasn’t some kind of conspiracy, how come the Coroner of
the Queen's Household, William Danby, just happen to be staying
nearby and decided to officiate, with no outside help?
v How come Frizer happened to be under the service of Thomas
Walsingham, a close friend of Marlowe’s, at the time this took place?
How come Robert Poley was under “Her Majesty’s Service”?
The answer?
One theory is that he didn’t even die at
all! With the help of his powerful friends
he staged his own death and fled the
country to escape execution. To make
money he continued writing plays under
the name…
William Shakespeare!
Evidence suggests that the real Shakespeare
was an illiterate businessman!
Ben Jonson 1573 – 1637
Ben Jonson was born into a poor and unhappy
family. He was first recognised as a writer
with his play Every Man In His Humour. This
play painted a brilliant picture of Elizabethan
life. Ben Jonson was thrown into prison
several times, for his political writings and
also for killing a man in a duel. Other famous
plays were Every Man Out Of His Humour,
and Jonson’s masterpiece, Volpone.
John Lyly 1553 – 1606
Lyly began his career as a writer
with several novels, called Euphues.
He then began writing plays, at first
mainly for young acting groups made up from
boys choirs. His plays often contained songs
and commented on court life. His famous
plays are Endymion (1591), Galathea (1592),
Love's Metamorphosis (1601), and The
Woman in the Moon (1597).
Thomas Kyd 1558 – 1594
Kyd was well educated and shared a room with
the other famous Elizabethan writer Marlowe.
Kyd's play, The Spanish Tragedy (1589), was
the most popular and influential tragedy of
Elizabethan times. Other plays attributed to
him are Cornelia and Arden of Feversham. In
1593, he was arrested on the charge of
heresy. He was eventually released but died
in poverty and disgrace.
The Performances
The theatres often had mechanisms that allowed “angels” and “gods” to
be lowered down onto the stage. Stages were also equipped with a
trapdoor leading to a “Hell” beneath the stage. The trapdoor was also
used as a grave in theatrical funerals.
There was very little scenery available for theatres, so the writers often
used to dialogue to explain to the audience where the scene was taking
place.
Costume was very important in Elizabethan theatre. Actors wore
colourful and elaborate costumes that would tell the audience the
characters status, family ties or profession.
The emphasis that was given to a character’s clothing made the theme
of disguise a common convention of Elizabethan theatre. In order to
exchange places with another character or conceal his identity, all an
actor needed to do was to change his costume.
The Elizabethan theatre also used a variety of sound effects. Music
played an important role in the setting the mood of the plays. Other
sounds created were thunder, running horses, falling rain, and cannon
blasts.
Shakespeare Today
Elizabethan theatre is still plays a part in our day to day lives, mostly
through the influence of Shakespeare. You can find references to his
work in films, novels, plays, musicals, songs, poetry, artwork,
satire…Even today his characters and storylines continue to inspire…
Shakespeare in Language
Elizabethan theatre has had a very important effect on today’s
theatre, and other parts of every day life. For example:
Shakespeare coined over 1600 words still used today including
countless, critical, excellent, lonely, majestic, obscene and its.
Names coined by Shakespeare:
-
Imogen in the play Cymbaline,
Jessica in the play The Merchant of Venice
Miranda in the play The Tempest
Olivia in the play Twelfth Night
Cordelia in the play King Lear
And lastly…
“If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's
Greek to me", if your lost property has vanished into
thin air, if you have ever refused to budge an inch or
suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played
fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied,
hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your
brows, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink,
laughed yourself into stitches, if you have too much of
a good thing, if you have seen better days or if you think
it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if
you believe that the game is up and that truth will out
even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie
low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul
play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell
swoop) without rhyme or reason - it is all one to me, for
you are quoting Shakespeare!”
The End