{"id":436,"date":"2019-10-06T12:17:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T11:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/?p=436"},"modified":"2019-10-06T13:42:42","modified_gmt":"2019-10-06T12:42:42","slug":"entertainment-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/2019\/10\/06\/entertainment-in-london\/","title":{"rendered":"Entertainment in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

Group:<\/strong> Abi Dickson, Ellie Simmonite, Leanne Francis, Sophie Hamilton, Soso Ayika & Raveena Mehta<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What can this tell us about the experience of performing and being in the audience of early modern plays?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Thomas Platter\u2019s account of entertainment in London depicts theatre as being something that was highly reliant on the weather, light, and travel and evolved over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We learn that theatre was highly invested in with \u201ctwo, sometimes three\u201d plays occurring throughout the day in different locations – some taking place across the river. The plays were in competition with each other and the least popular, something \u201cthat was \u2018damned\u2019 or \u2018hissed\u2019 after first performance\u201d (Stern, Tiffany. p.63), would no longer be performed. Competition was also significantly increased by the fact that \u201cas the city was so small, potential audience for the theatre was also small\u201d (Stern, Tiffany. p.62), necessitating increased violence in certain theatre productions to appeal to those attracted to, for instance, performances of bear baiting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The lack of technology during the era of Elizabethan theatre meant that plays were typically performed around lunchtime when there was more light, and actors would often over-exaggerate their gestures for those in the audience who were short-sighted. Tiffany Stern tells us that \u201clarge gestures will have been very important, for corrective spectacles for short sight did not exist.\u201d (83) In regards to costumes, a social ladder is highlighted as actors (those lower in society) would purchase their expensive and elaborate costumes from serving men, who would receive these outfits as gifts from deceased lords or knights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    We also learn that the layout of theatres differed: playhouses were constructed \u201con a raised platform\u201d so that everyone had a good view, whereas other galleries offered better seating for those who were willing to pay, perhaps as a way to divide the upper from lower class. Those who could not afford seating paid one penny to stand for the entirety of the performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Platter also says that plays were used to teach the public about what was happening abroad: \u201cthe English for the most part do not travel much, but prefer to learn foreign matters and take their pleasures at home.\u201d This suggests that theatre served various purposes, such as entertainment and education.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Platter\u2019s account also indicates that the theatre was a place of networking where the wealthy could be sociable and perhaps flaunt their wealth: \u2018if he desires to sit in the most comfortable seats which are cushioned, where he not only sees everything well, <\/span>but can also be seen\u2019<\/span><\/i>. This tells us that people would pay extra money in order to show themselves off around their peers.<\/span><\/p>\n

    2. What strikes you as the most unusual aspect of Elizabethan theatre?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Food and drink was offered to members of the audience who could afford it. This could be considered \u2018unusual\u2019 as it seems like a relatively modern concept: one we still use today.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Elizabethan theatres and other venues were not only used for plays but for other forms of entertainment, such as \u2018bear baitings\u2019 and \u2018cock fights\u2019 which occurred throughout the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Members of the public would pay to watch these animals \u201cwound each other to death\u201d, often betting on the one they thought would win. Sometimes the \u2018cocks\u2019 would be given brandy before a fight, adding to the \u201cwonderful pleasure\u201d of the violent display. Platter also describes how much money was circulating due to this violent sport: \u2018I am told that stakes on a cock often amount to many thousands of crowns.\u2019 Bears would be bound by a rope and \u2018baited\u2019 by a group of \u201cgreat English mastiffs\u201d every Sunday and Wednesday. He graphically describes how the animals were treated outside of the baiting pits, for example describing how the bears\u2019 teeth were \u2018broken short\u2019 so that they could not injure the dogs. The place was described as \u201cevil-smelling because of the [lungs] and meat on which the butchers feed the said dogs.\u201d These activities made theatres incredibly unhygienic places with no regard for animal welfare, which differs from the theatres we visit today.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Platter states that \u201cwomen as well as the men, in fact more often than they, will frequent the taverns or ale-houses for enjoyment.\u201d Despite being unable to perform in plays, women were able to visit inns and taverns throughout the city and drink wine with men.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Group: Abi Dickson, Ellie Simmonite, Leanne Francis, Sophie Hamilton, Soso Ayika & Raveena Mehta What can this tell us about the experience of performing and being in the audience of early modern plays? Thomas Platter\u2019s account of entertainment in London depicts theatre as being something that was highly reliant on the weather, light, and travel … Continue reading Entertainment in London<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8279,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8279"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/shakespeare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}