Week Three Historical Context

What was London like in Elizabethan 

times and who were the people  

attending the theatre?

During the elizabethan era London was the richest and the biggest city in the United Kingdom it was the home of the first permanentand professional theatres in the United Kingdom during this time. Wealthy traders and manufacturers – and their workers – lived in London and becase of their employment and standard oof living and also because (as previously mentioned) that London was rapidly changing at these times they had the money to go to the theatre and these were the people found in the audience at the time.

The reason that London was rapidly growing not only econmocally but also in terms of the population is because migrants from the countryside and from Europe were migrating there. Between 1550 and 1600 it is estimated the city grew fromaround 50,000 residents to over 200,000 which means that more jobs were being created and more money was being made.  London was a bustling, overcrowded city at this time and was commonly described as 'plagued' and 'dark and narrow' which meant that criminals were also attracted to the city and diseases spreaded quickerdue to the crowds. It is reported that 10'000 people were killed in the summer 1593 and this means that the theatres were forced to close to prevent the increase of diseases.



Generally m ore men than women came to theatres in London during this time as it was the main source of entertainment as things such as phones and tvs had not been invented by then. It was said however that the theatre was the place to be whether you were extremely wealthy or less economically fortunate, it was said that servants and apprentices spent all their time there. Even royalty loved watching a play. They didn’t go to public theatres, but companies of actors were summoned to perform at the courts of Elizabeth I and James I.