Theatres and acting companies

The first permanent theatre was built by James Burbage in 1576. These theatres were circular or octagonal. They were composed of three galleries, looking down on the stage , and of the yard , were the poorer people stood. The stage was divided into three parts:

the apron stage: were the actors played. They were protected by a roof from the rain

the inner stage: concealed by a curtain , it was the hiding place of the play

the upper stage: hidden by a curtain, it was the place of the musicians

The actors played in daylight. There wasn't a scenary, so every object meant something: for exemple, a crown on the stage meant that it was a royal room; a king wearing his armour was on the field of a battle; a men with a lantern meant the street of the city at night.

A scene ended when no player was on the stage and became when a caracter came on. There weren't women players, so the parts of young women were acted by disguised boys

- Soliloquy and monologue -

The difference between soliloquy and monologue is that while in the soliloquy the player had a talk with himself, in the monologue the player talk to the spectatores.

- William Shakespeare -

He was born in 1564. His father was a dealer in wool , so William had to pay for his studies in the local grammar school. Then he married Anne Hathaway when he was only 18. In 1584 he went to London. There he became the most important playwringht of London, when he was at the service of the Earl of Southampton. When he became an old man, he decided to come back in his native town. He died when he was 52 years old.