Elizabeth Succesful
Why was Elizabethan Theatre so successful?
One of the reasons that Elizabethan theatre was so successful was that
it was enjoyed by the Queen. Elizabeth never visited the theatre
herself, but was known to have invited companies of actors to perform
for her at court.
She was a very important patron of the theatre, even allowing one
company to call themselves "The Queen's men". This meant that people
would think that the theatre was not a bad thing as the ruler
appointed by God supported it, and therefore they could not be doing
wrong by following her example.
The nobles of England were also known to be supporters of the theatre,
many invited companies of actors to their homes to perform plays for
them. One example of this is that the Lord Chamberlain, gave money to a group of actors and
even let them call themselves "The Lord Chamberlain's Men". This meant
that people would follow the example of their Lords and go to the
theatre. Another reason that nobles supported the theatre was that it
prevented the lower classes from causing trouble because it took their
minds off the problems of their lives, such as poverty and
unemployment.
There were also many attractions at the theatre other than the plays; refreshments such as fruits, beer, nuts and wine were offer. Also going to the theatre was seen as a social event as those who were wealthy would go to be noticed by other wealthy people to help land business contacts.
Finally, the playwrights had a big impact on the theatre. None other than, Shakespeare and Marlowe created some of the best plays ever written. Huge audiences, containing poor, apprentices and craftspeople as well as wealthy nobles and merchants flocked to watch them. The actors also performed exceptionally well as they had to be able to dance, play musical instruments, sing as well as dance. No women performed in the plays. Young boys generally performed...
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