Elizabetha Theater Facts

Elizabethan Theatre Facts | The Amphitheatres were designed as an open arena | | | Size of Elizabethan Theatre | Up to 100 feet in diameter | Shapes of Elizabethan Theatre | Octagonal or circular in shape having between 8 and 24 sides | Building materials used in the construction of Elizabethan Theatres | Timber, nails, stone (flint), plaster and thatched roofs. Later amphitheatres had tiled roofs | Building Duration | 6 months | Overall design of the Elizabethan Theatre | The open air arena of the amphitheatre was called the 'pit' or the 'yard'. The stage of the amphitheatre projected halfway into the 'pit'. It had a raised stage at one end which was surrounded by three tiers of roofed galleries with balconies overlooking the back of the stage. | Audience Capacity | 1500 - 3000 | The Grounds of the theatre | Bustling with people. Stalls selling merchandise and refreshments. | Toilet Facilities | None . People relieved themselves outside. Sewage was buried in pits or disposed of in the River Thames. All theatres closed during outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague - disease would have spread via the rats & fleas | The Entrance to the theatre | Usually one main entrance. Some later theatres had external staircases to access the galleries | The 'Box ' and the 'Box Office' | Playgoers put 1 penny in a box at the Elizabethan theatre entrance. At the start of the play the admission collectors put the boxes in a room backstage - the box office. | Access to the Balconies & Galleries | Two sets of stairs, either side if the theater. The first gallery would cost another penny in the box which was held by a collector at the front of the stairs. The second gallery would cost another penny | The 'Housekeepers' | The owners of the theatre | Lighting in the Elizabethan Theatre | Natural lighting as plays were produced in the afternoon. However there was some artificial lighting mainly intended to provide atmosphere for night scenes |