Many of the early morality plays were shown before scenic constructions representing well known landmarks. An elaborate castle representing Heaven often sat opposite a dragon's mouth (complete with flames shooting out) which represented, Hell. Street plays (Commedia del’Arte) were often staged on wagons, one scene on each wagon. The spectators stayed in one place and watched the various acts as the wagons pulled up in front of them.

The Renaissance theater of the nobility was comprised of elaborate spectacle, these stage spectacles, called masques, were performed in the ballrooms of courts with elaborate scenery and costumes. No expense was spared. Clouds floated around the ceiling; angels and cherubs went up and down. Magnificent chariots were drawn into view. The stories were supercilious, extolling only the joys of excess.

Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Theater

Before 1576 there were no formal theaters for the masses in London. The inner courtyards of inns were used to present plays. A platform was placed over the watering troughs just outside the stables at one end of the court. The spectators either stood in the court or sat on benches on the balconies above the yard. This layout was the model for the later regular theaters.

The first one, called simply the Theatre, was built by James Burbage in 1576. Many more theaters were built in short order--the Curtain, Rose, Swan, Hope, Fortune, and most important, the Globe. The Globe Theatre opened in 1599, with 'Julius Caesar' as one of its first productions. It staged the first performances of many of Shakespeare's tragedies. The plays were acted by the Lord Chamberlain's men, later known as the King's Men. Shakespeare was an actor in this company (see Shakespeare).

The Globe was a hexagon with an inner court about 55 feet across. A platform stage stretched halfway into this court. The audience either stood in the open courtyard--the pit--or sat in one of three semicircular galleries. More than 1,500 people could crowd into the Globe. At the first level of the stage house were the platform stage and an inner curtained stage flanked by two doors. At the second level was another curtained inner stage fronted by two windows and a balcony. On the third level was a small music gallery. On the roof were a flag (flown when a play was to be performed), facilities for shooting cannon, and over the platform stage a roof through which characters could be lowered by crane to the stage.

With so many stage spaces, the multiple scenes of Shakespeare's plays could be played through without interruption for scenery changes. The action moved from one playing space to another. In many ways it was the most flexible theater ever developed.

There were private theaters at Blackfriars and St. Paul's where boy actors performed. There were also magnificent masques presented to the court in the Great Hall at Whitehall. The masques used such notable designers as Inigo Jones and such writers as Ben Jonson. In his designs for these masques, Jones introduced the side wings and backdrop type of setting which has lasted until today.

Some of the most notable renaissance play writes, who's plays you might see at faire;

Bacon, Sir Francis (1561-1626), philosopher, essayist--'New Atlantis'; 'The Advancement of Learning'; 'Essays'.

Beaumont, Francis (1584-1616), dramatist--with John Fletcher, 'The Knight of the Burning Pestle'.

Chapman, George (1559?-1634), poet, dramatist, translator--Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey'

Coverdale, Miles (1488?-1569), translator--Bible.

Daniel, Samuel (1562-1619), poet--'Defence of Ryme'.

Dekker, Thomas (1570?-1641), dramatist--'The Shoemaker's Holiday'.

Fletcher, John (1579-1625), dramatist--with Francis Beaumont, 'The Maid's Tragedy'.

Ford, John (1586-1640?), dramatist--'The Broken Heart'.

Heywood, Thomas (died 1641?), dramatist--'A Woman Killed with Kindness'.

Jonson, Ben (1573?-1637), poet, dramatist--'Song to Celia'.

Kyd, Thomas (1558-94), dramatist--'The Spanish Tragedy'.

Lodge, Thomas (1558?-1625), poet--'Rosalynde'.

Lyly, John (1554?-1606), novelist, dramatist--'Euphues: the Anatomy of Wit'; 'Euphues and His England'.

Marlowe, Christopher (1564-93), dramatist--'Doctor Faustus'; 'The Jew of Malta';

'Tamburlaine'.

Massinger, Philip (1583-1640), dramatist--'A New Way to Pay Old Debts'.

Middleton, Thomas (1570?-1627), dramatist--'Michaelmas Terne'.

More, Sir Thomas (1478-1535), prose writer--'Utopia'.

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616), dramatist, poet--'As You Like It'; 'Hamlet'; 'Macbeth'; 'King Lear' 'The Tempest'; 'Sonnets'.

Sidney, Sir Philip (1554-86), poet, novelist--'Astrophel and Stella'; 'Arcadia'.

Skelton, John (1460?-1529), poet--'Colyn Clout'.

Spenser, Edmund (1552?-99), poet--'The Faerie Queene'.

Tyndale, William (1492?-1536), translator, tract writer--New Testament (trans.).

Webster, John (1580?-1625?), dramatist--'The Duchess of Malfi'.

Wyatt, Sir Thomas (1503-42), poet--'Certayne Psalmes'

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