In the 1500-1600 people from London and other places around UK went to plays for entertainment. One of the most memorable play writers was William Shakespeare, born 1564 and died at the age of 51. He wrote sonnets and plays like Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day, and many more. I found it interesting how different plays were in those times compared to how they are presented today. In this journal entry I am discussing the 3 differences that intrigue me the most.

Firstly, in those days people did not sit at plays unless they were wealthy enough to pay for a seat. The lower class people would stand right in front of the stage. The people also came to these plays armed with fruit, beer, and more that they would throw at the actors if they did not like the play. Today people sit and watch the play quiet and politely. Back then theatre was affordable to most people. Although royalty and nobles could see plays in public theatres they preferred that the plays were performed at their homes in private.

(Shakespeare play being presented privately in a nobles home)

Secondly in the time of Shakespeare, woman were not allowed to perform on stage, and thus woman roles were played by men and voiced by prepubescent boys. The first woman to appear in a Shakespeare play was in 1660, 44 years after his death. Now a day, female actresses can perform on stage. Women did attend the theatre in significant numbers, although some commentators considered even this too public a role for women, saying that having women in the audience distracted men from their stage performance and incited lewd behaviour.

Thirdly, plays that happened in these times where done during the day time because there were no lights after dark. With today’s technology, we can achieve all kinds of different fancy lighting effects. Additionally the theatres had no roofs so when it rained the actors would get wet and still had to stay in character.

In conclusion, the theatre in Shakespeare’s time was much different then it is today. The way people watched the play was very different, woman were not allowed to play any role in theatres, and the events of the play happened in an open stage during day time.

(Open Roof Stage)