Historical Context

At the time of Shakespeare's life, the queen was Henry VIII's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I who was in reign from 17th November 1558 - 24th March 1603 and was also referred to as 'The Virgin Queen'. This was the beginning of the 'Elizabethan Era' and saw her Queen of England and Ireland for almost 45 years and saw England enter it's strongest and richest era, going into two wars; one against France, the other Spain.

Society at that time

Being in this era there was a much clearer division between the upper class and lower class groups and to conclude, the majority of the population was poor and had to work extremely hard for their money. The main source wasn't the job you see in today's society but a hard labourship movement, working through farming and craftsmanship. The environment that they lived in were very much damp with any disease around being able to be caught and this was a huge comparison to the upper class who lived in palaces and villas with lucky enough to be servants. In similarity to the London today, the population was expanding rapidly along with the rolling in and out of thieves, violent individuals/groups and beggars. 

All of this was able to happen because no one in the local authority basically had no authority and were police who weren't fully trained to keep peace and armed with the most simplest weaponry. During the 16th century there was an inflation and this only brought more distress and chaos in the streets of London, this saw wages and costs in food rise. In Cumbria which was known as the poorest part of England had people starving to death and this compared to the rich which had no challenge in surviving the worst famine.

In everyone's everyday life in the 16th century, theatre was a main hobby for them. From going to unknown Elizabethan theatre's to the most known in London, Shakespeare's Globe which has been around for centuries but unfortunately destroyed by a fire in 1613 then wu icky rebuilt for people's entertainment in 1614.

Performance Conditions

Throughout all the time Shakespeare was alive and after there were three main types of Elizabethan entertainment to do with theatre; Elizabethan Inn-Yards, Elizabethan Playhouses and Elizabethan Amphitheatres. 

Inns

In most Inns companies with actors would firstly have to negotiate with the owner of the Inn before staging a performance, this is relatively what happens now in many theatres as well as sites for site specific performances. Also being in a Inn you would have to pay for drinks etc and you were made to pay extra if you wanted a view from the balcony while everyone else was below you. 

Playhouses

Most of the playhouses were small but roofed and this only brought more crowds in when it was a snowy day. It was said that each playhouse had signs reading 'suitable for winter and evening production. Playhouses were the most expensive theatres out of all the Elizabethan theatres and attending a public theatre performance would cost around 1-3 pennies but a private indoor performance was around 2-26 pennies. The audience capacity was up to 500 people and musical instruments was essential in everyday performances there. Performing in a place like a playhouse, they always wanted costumes to look sumptuous for the excitement of the audience members who were willing to pay a lot of money to witness this. 

Amphitheatre 

There were 12 amphitheatres in London and 'The Theatre' was the largest one out of them all, built first too. Most amphitheatres were opened roof and some oval shaped to give the audience an all round view. This of course made it harder for the actors to address the whole audience making some performances not well as others would be in an Inn or playhouse. The original capacity for an original Elizabethan Theatre was around 2500-3000 people; this could be seen as a positive to help the actors feel much more supported and backed. 

In theatres like this, there was no heating so plays were put on during the summer for the sun to be shone down on the audience and actors below the no roofed theatre and if there were any winter performance the theatre would be transformed into an indoor playhouse. This affected lighting and such so much of the lighting for performances were very natural with the sun coming up and there was artificial lighting mainly intended to provide atmosphere for night scenes.