Early theatre: The rise of secular drama

Entertainment at court

All religious drama in England was suppressed as a result of the Reformation. In the 1530s the court of Henry VIII (reigned 1509–47) was opulent and extravagant. Henry saw entertainment as a vital way to impress his courtiers and foreign kings. The Court employed jesters and musicians for entertainment and small companies of actors took on the livery of an aristocratic patron.

Henry's daughter Elizabeth I (reigned 1558–1603) was also fond of being entertained, and under her rule, companies of performers moved from one residence to another to announce the arrival of the Royal Court.

Licences were issued to companies, allowing them to rehearse and perform in public, providing they had the approval and patronage of a nobleman. At first companies performed in enclosed inn yards. There was a bare stage and no scenery.

The first playhouses

By the 1570s purpose-built playhouses started appearing in London as secular drama began to predominate. In 1576 Britain's first playhouse 'The Theatre' was built by Leicester's Men in Finsbury Fields. This was outside the city walls as the City of London was hostile to public performances.

Over the next 16 years 17 new theatres were constructed. Most of these theatres were circular, surrounding an open courtyard where members of the audience would stand around the three sides of the thrust stage. The courtyard was surrounded by galleries roofed with a thatched or tiled roof where you could sit if you could afford to pay more.

These open air theatres were known as public theatres, but there were also indoor theatres such as the Blackfriars which were known as private. These were also public but cost more and attracted a snootier audience to watch. Performances were in daylight, usually starting at 3pm, and were crowded and noisy. Admission prices ranged from a penny to stand in the yard by the stage to up to sixpence for the most expensive seats in the galleries.