The answer is ‘
just about everyone in London society
‘ – generally more men than women, but all sorts of people. One visitor, in 1617, described the crowd around the stage as ‘a gang of porters and carters’. Others talked of servants and apprentices spending all their spare time there.
How did the audience behave in the Globe Theatre?
It was generally a pretty boisterous crowd inside the theater, and spectators weren’t expected to remain quiet during the performance.
Audience members yelled during exciting parts, booed villains’ actions, and cheered special effects like smoke and fireworks
.
What were the audience like in Shakespeare’s time?
Who were these people? Shakespeare’s audience was
the very rich, the upper middle class, and the lower middle class
. All of these people would seek entertainment just as we do today, and they could afford to spend money going to the theater.
What were the standing audience at the Globe theater called?
The Globe Theatre audiences
The Elizabethan general public (the Commoners) referred to
as groundlings would pay 1 penny to stand in the ‘Pit’ of the Globe Theater. The gentry would pay to sit in the galleries often using cushions for comfort.
What was it like to attend the globe Theatre?
The rowdy pit
was filled with commoners watching and loudly applauding the plays. Fights often broke out; thievery and prostitution were common in the lowest level. The audience must have loved the plays to endure the crowded, smelly, uncomfortable conditions for up to three hours at a time.
How much did it cost to watch a play at the Globe Theatre?
The most expensive seats would have been in the ‘Lord’s Rooms’. Admission to the indoor theatres started at
6 pence
. One penny was only the price of a loaf of bread.
Where did the poor sit in the Globe Theatre?
The Globe theatre had a central area where there was no cover. This is where the poor people used to watch the plays. They were called
the groundlings
. They would stand in this area with no protection so when it rained and snowed they got very cold and wet.
What did audiences do if they didn’t like a play?
The audience might buy apples to eat. If they didn’t like the play,
the audience threw them at the actors
! This is where our idea of throwing tomatoes comes from – but ‘love-apples’, as they were known, come from South America and they weren’t a common food at the time.
What happens if the audience didn’t like the play?
during the play. If the audience liked or did not like the play or the actors,
the groundlings would let everyone in the theater know it
.
Where did the rich sit in the Globe Theatre?
The rich paid three pennies to sit in the higher galleries, which had a better view. The best seats were in
the lords’ rooms
, private galleries closest to the stage.
What was the nickname of the Globe Theater?
| Construction | Closed 1642 | Rebuilt 1614 |
|---|
What happened to the original Globe Theatre?
What happened to the first Globe?
Disaster struck the Globe in 1613
. On 29 June, at a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, some small cannons were fired. They didn’t use cannon balls, but they did use gunpowder held down by wadding.
Who were the groundlings at the Globe Theatre?
Elizabethan general public or people who were not nobility
were referred to as groundlings. They would pay one penny to stand in the Pit of the Globe Theater (Howard 75). The upper class spectators would pay to sit in the galleries often using cushions for comfort.
What did it smell like in the Globe Theatre?
The Globe Theatre could fit up to 3000 people in the audience. One of the things that would strike us now about the Elizabethan theatre would be the smell. The smell includes
the smell of crowds
, their sweaty bodies and stinking breath. These were mixed with the smells of food and drink and the smoke from tobacco.
What were the cheapest seats in the Globe Theatre called?
Globe Theatre Interior – the Pit or Yard
There was no seating
– the cheapest part of the Globe Theater and the audience had to stand. The stage structure projected halfway into the ‘ yard ‘ where the commoners (groundlings) paid 1 penny to stand to watch the play.
Who wanted the theatre banned?
To appease the Puritans,
Elizabeth
banned theatres within the London city boundary. However that didn’t stop several large playhouses such as the Globe, being built just outside London, within easy reach of the public. The playwrights knew about the Puritans, of course, and frequently mocked them in their plays.
