3. London and Audiences

What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theatre?

'This city of london is not only brimfull of curiosities but so popular that one simply cannot walk along the streets for the crowd' - A visitor to London 1599

During Elizabethan reign London became the richest city in England and was massively prosperous. The River Thames allowed naval and commercial trade, attracting ships from all over the world. London became one of the busiest, central cities in the developing western world. The 16th century marked a change for London's development and it's economy, it was surrounded in success and the population had grown 400% from 1500 to 1600, at 200,000 people. It was a city filled with people of all backgrounds, and even home to refugees escaping religious or political persecution from the rest of Europe. Essentially, it was a city and an economy built on trade and relations with those outside of London and England, and the poor and labouring. John Stow made reports on London's population and trade on the Thames, focusing on the poor at the time.

John Stow's  'Survey of London'  (1598) - 
all kind of merchandise be easily conveyed to London, the principal store house, and staple of all commodities within this realm, so that omitting to speak of great ships, and other vessels of burden, there pertaineth to the cities of London, Westminster, and borough of Southwark, above the number as is supposed of 2000 wherries and other small boats, whereby 3000 poor men at the least be set on work and maintained. 

Queen Elizabeth at The Globe

People of all classes in society attended the theatre but were separated and divided, their status defined by where they could afford to sit, or stand if they were 'commoners'. Elizabeth I and James I were also recorded to have become the audience to theatre as acting companies would visit royalty and perform in their plays in their own royal courts. Queen Elizabeth's presence at the theatre and her interest in it as an art form, helped to keep it alive as many of the local authorities were against playhouses and the theatre as a form of entertainment.

The act of going to the theatre for the upper classes of society was often about a representation of wealth, people would attend dressed boldly and ostentatiously, making their way to the expensive balconies. The audiences in the Elizabethan Era were expected to shout back at the actors during the performances and would sometimes throw old fruit or objects at the actors as they performed. This was considered usual and a part of visiting the theatre, a participatory, almost immersive experience (for those so close to the stage). The audience was a lot more reactive about how they felt about performances and would loudly express how they felt about the different characters when they were on stage. Humour, violence and music was often central to the pieces presented in places like The Globe and other playhouses because this is what audiences enjoyed and responded positively to.
Audiences were male dominated, just as most public places were due to the fact that women were so restricted and limited in Elizabethan society, in 1629 it was recorded that a French company which had been touring around Europe, performed at the Globe and were pelted and forced off the stage by the enraged audience because they had rightfully used women to play the female roles.

Shakespeare clearly took inspiration from society in London and English culture in order to write his texts and therefore subjects such as marriage, religion and sex would have been heavily related to by the audience at the time. Whether it be mimicking it or presenting it sincerely, it was often an expected aspect to Shakespeare's plays.