The thing I find most interesting about the Elizabethan theatre and Shakespeare’s plays is how they are similar and how they differ from modern day plays. I find it interesting that some of the things from Elizabethan theatre are still being used and implemented into modern day productions. I find it interesting how some of the things from Elizabethan productions are not present at all in modern day plays and have been removed with the changing mentality of the the public.

Shakespeare’s productions are different in many ways from today’s theatre. The plays today focus less on the church whereas the majority of people in Shakespeare’s era were very religious. With the development of the world, the one religion of Shakespeare’s day has become replaced by many and the theatres try to tend to everyone’s beliefs. The speaking in Shakespeare’s plays are very constructed and proper, the lines the actors said were pronounced perfectly without fault. In today’s plays the performers speak in a more casual way including stuttering and interrupting which is more normal to our ears. In Elizabethan theatre women were not allowed to perform on the stage, all players were full male casts. In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet was played by a young pre-pubescent boy. Today the theatre accepts both genders and women’s rolls are usually played by woman.

The Elizabethan theatre has many similarities to the modern theatre. One of the main things that Shakespeare’s plays share with modern plays in their main topic, many of Shakespeare’s plays are about struggles, like love or greed. Plays today’s are often about romance or struggles. This is one of the reasons Shakespeare’s plays are not out of date, they are about themes that still present today. Modern plays are often made after pieces of writing, for example in London I saw a play on the book Matilda. Shakespeare’s plays were said to be long poems acted out. Shakespeare’s plays often had comedic and tragic elements within them, these genres are still very popular in today’s modern and mainstream plays.

In conclusion Shakespeare’s plays in Elizabethan theatre have many similarities and differences from modern theatre. The similarities between the modern and Elizabethan plays are mainly within the deeper understanding of the topic and genre. The plays are different mainly because of the change in society, how people view women, how prominent religion is and how formal talking should be. These things all interest me very much and that is why I wrote about them.

E Notes – The Differnce Between Elizabethan Theatre and Modern Theatre
Elizabethan Drama
Romeo & Juliet Overveiw
History of Elizabethan Theatre