This theatrical period begins in the reign of the Tudors. It starts with Henry VIII and goes through his daughter Elizabeth 1st's reign and into that of her successor - King James 1^st. This takes us from the late part of the 1500s through the early part of the 1600s.

As we move out of the Medieval period into the Tudor period and then into the great flowering of professional theatre in the Elizabethan age it is useful to take stock of what influences there are, of which Shakespeare and the other playwrights of the time would have been aware:

· the Mystery and Miracle plays, still very popular and continuing to be so throughout the sixteenth century.

· the Morality plays

· the travelling entertainers, including Commedia Dell’Arte troupes

· interludes, which were short farcical plays, often written by scholars, as part of longer entertainments

· the growing interest in the plays of the ancients, especially Roman comedy and tragedy.

Latin and the Romans were the basis for Renaissance knowledge but of course we know that the basis for much of Roman theatre and play structures was Greek.

The simple wooden platform of the travelling professional players, erected for performance in the courtyard of an inn, gave rise to the shape of the famous Elizabethan theatres such as the Theatre and the Globe.

The different performance spaces of these same travelling players: out-of-doors, in the village square or the inn yard; indoors in the nobleman's hall - gave rise to the two performance spaces of the Elizabethan and Jacobean age. Through Shakespeare and the Globe, you will know more about the outdoor theatre type, but such playwrights as Ben Jonson wrote largely for an indoor theatre and, often, for amateur actors such as the boys of St Paul's School. Thus the mix of professional actors and amateur actors also continued into this period.

Conventions

Sometimes, performance styles are associated with periods in history (and hence, theatre history) and Elizabethan theatre (or Elizabethan drama) is one of these examples. Historically, Elizabethan theatre refers to plays performed in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Students of theatre often forget Shakespeare was not the only playwright during this time (somewhat understandable when they hear the term “Shakespearean drama” so regularly). Shakespeare’s contemporaries included the likes of Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Kyd, Thomas Heywood and Robert Greene. These and other playwrights also wrote and performed their plays in England during the reign of Elizabeth I. Many of the conventions used in public performances of Elizabethan plays were so recognisable, today Elizabethan theatre is not only referred to as a specific period in theatre history, but also as a theatre style.

Here are some of the more identifiable acting and staging conventions common to Elizabethan theatre:

Soliloquy

Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…” is literature’s most famous soliloquy. This popular Elizabethan convention is a literary or dramatic technique in which a single character talks aloud inner thoughts to him or herself, but not within earshot of another character. Typically, a soliloquy is lengthy with a dramatic tone.

Aside

The aside existed in Shakespeare’s times, but happily continued into the melodramas of the 19th century many years later. An aside is a convention that usually involves one character addressing the audience “on the side”, offering them valuable information in relation to the plot or characters that only the audience is privy to. The audience now feels empowered, knowing more about the events on stage than most of the characters do.

Boys Performing Female Roles

Acting in Elizabeth’s England was frowned upon my many in society as a profession unsuitable for women, as it was rough and rowdy instead of genteel. As a result, women were not legally permitted to act on the English stage until King Charles II was crowned in the year 1660 (even though women were already acting in various European countries in Commmedia dell’Arte plays for some years). Shakespeare and his contemporaries therefore had no choice but to cast young boys in the roles of women, while the men played all the male roles on stage.

Masque

Existing before Elizabethan England and also outliving it, the masque was normally performed indoors at the King or Queen’s court. Spoken in verse, a masque involved beautiful costumes and an intellectual element appropriate for the mostly educated upper class. Masques were allegorical stories about an event or person involving singing, acting and dancing. Characters wore elaborate masks to hide their faces.

Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping was a dramatic technique that sat neatly between a soliloquy and an aside. Certain characters would strategically overhear others on stage, informing both themselves and the audience of the details, while the characters being overheard had no idea what was happening. This convention opened up opportunities for the playwright in the evolving plot.

Presentational Acting Style

It is generally agreed by scholars Elizabethan acting was largely presentational in style. Plays were more overtly a “performance” with clues the actors were aware of the presence of an audience instead of completely ignoring them as part of their art. Movements and gestures were more stylised and dramatic than one might ordinarily expect in a modern naturalistic or realistic drama, speech patterns were heightened for dramatic effect, and the use of conventions such as the aside, prologue, epilogue and word puns directly connected characters to the audience watching. The aside, the prologue, the soliloquy and the epilogue were all variations on a characters’ direct address to the audience when staged.

Dialogue

Elizabethan plays commonly consisted of dialogue that was poetic, dramatic and heightened beyond that of the vernacular of the day. While often the lower class characters’ speech was somewhat colloquial (prose), upper class characters spoke stylised, rhythmic speech patterns (verse). Shakespeare took great care in composing dialogue that was sometimes blank (unrhymed), but at other times rhyming (couplets) and often using five stressed syllables in a line of dialogue (iambic pentameter).

Play Within A Play

This Elizabethan convention was a playwriting technique used by Shakespeare and others that involved the staging of a play inside the play itself. It was not a flimsy convention, but rather one that was used judiciously and with purpose. One of the most famous examples of this convention occurs in Hamlet, when the title character is convinced his uncle Claudius murdered his father for the throne. So Hamlet organises an out-of-town troupe of performers to attend one evening and perform a play before King Claudius that involves the same plot line as the events in the larger play (murder of a King), but in a different setting … all to let Claudius know Hamlet is on to him!

What can we learn from Elizabethan Theatre?

There are, in fact, quite a few interesting ideas we can take from such a non-realistic style of theatre (and many 'modern' theatrical styles have already!)

- Parts of the stage could represent anywhere - "unlocalised" places on Earth. The description of the location is addressed in the dialogue (eg: Macbeth and Banquo commenting on walking through the blasted heath on such a dark and stormy night)

- Soliloquies were delivered to unburden the characters mind to himself with the audience able to hear his thoughts or arguments also.

- Asides were spoken by actors, to the audience, often commenting on what has just taken place, or informing them what they are thinking.

- Often plays had a play within a play to really get the point across (eg: Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream)

- Pillars supporting the roof of the theatre could serve as frees, ship's masts, etc.

- Plays commented on current events - often changed to suit what was happening on the day.

- Simple set pieces such as a fake rock, a throne, or even some elaborate hanging or inner set pieces could tell the audience the place was a throne room, a battlefield, a hill etc.

- Speeches by actors and a herald or special interlocutor called a "chorus" could tell the audience what they needed to know about what was to come.

- Actors engaged in speech for the same purpose, which is called “exposition" - in a word telling the audience what he/she needs to know.

- People of various classes, professions, etc. were denoted by costume, makeup, wigs, tools and speech patterns.

- All parts were enacted by males, with boys taking the parts of females.

- Ghosts, gods, demons and magical beings such as fairies were also allowed their place.

- The play continued without pause from start to finish and were often quite long - they were, however, written in such a way that if you only saw the beginning and the end, they still made sense. Audiences were expected to come and go!

- Sometimes plays ended with a Morris dance or other show.

- Players spoke prose, poetic prose, verse, and finally blank verse etc., rather than colloquial speech.

- Lute songs were introduced into the plays.

- Medieval types were still represented by exaggerated costumes for comedic purposes - a banker, a beggar, a friar being denoted by external devices. Kings wore coronets or crowns.

- Torches, and even fireworks or artillery were used… a spark from which burned down the original Globe Theatre.