World Masterpieces
Famous Stages of Theatre History
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Famous Stages of Theatre History
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Information
Built: 1599
Location: London, United Kingdom
Capacity: 3000
The company
The company consisted of 6–10, later of 12–15 members. (Female roles were played by young boys.)
Trapdoor
Through it, actors appeared on the stage from the hidden space below the stage, which was often called ‘hell’.
The commoners, or ‘groundlings’, could buy tickets for 1 penny. They watched the plays standing or sitting on the ground around the stage.
Auditorium
Seats reserved
for wealthier people and aristocrats.
Stage and balcony
There are three doors on the ground floor which lead to the backstage.
The balcony located on the first floor
was used by actors e.g. in the production of Romeo and Juliet, but occasionally musicians also played here.
The sky
The painted ceiling symbolized the sky or the heavens.
‘The Heavens’
It was a windowed room on the roof covering the stage. The building was used for storage and for descending from the ‘Heavens’ to the stage through a trapdoor.
Globe Theatre
The current Globe Theatre was rebuilt in the 1990s and opened in 1997. Today, it attracts a large number of visitors.
Globe Theatre(London)
The Renaissance theatre was built on the right bank
of the River Thames, in the Bankside district of London
in 1599. The theatre was named after the globe
decorating its façade.
The Globe Theatre is associated with the name of William Shakespeare, who was director of the theatre
from 1601 to 1607. These were the Golden Years
of the Elizabethan Theatre.
