* Trivia Fact 1 - There were no Elizabethan Theatres until 1576 - plays were performed in the courtyards of inns - they were referred to as 'inn-yards' * Trivia Fact 2 - James Burbage built the very first theatre in 1576 with his brother-in-law John Brayne, appropriately named 'The Theatre'. * Trivia Fact 3 - The Globe was built in a similar style to the Coliseum, but on a smaller scale - other Elizabethan Theatres followed this style of architecture - they were called amphitheatres. * Trivia Fact 4 - Elizabethan theatres were also used for bear baiting, gambling and for immoral purposes * Trivia Fact 5 - Elizabethan theatres attracted huge crowds - up to 3000 people * Trivia Fact 6 - Shakespeare and his company built TWO Globe Theatres! * Trivia Fact 7 - The Globe theatre was built by a carpenter called Peter Smith together with his workforce. They started building in 1597 and it was finished in 1598 * Trivia Fact 8 - Many Londoners were strict Protestants - Puritans in fact, who abhorred the theatres and many of the people they attracted * Trivia Fact 9 - Objections to the Theatres escalated from the Church and the City of London Officials
Respectable citizens added even more objections about the rise in crime and the bawdy nature of some of the plays, fighting, drinking not to mention the risk of so many people and the spread of the Bubonic Plague! In 1596 London's authorities were unwilling to ignore the growing complaints any longer and they banned the public presentation of plays and all Theatres within the City limits of London * Trivia Fact 10 - All Theatres located in the City were forced to move to the South side of the River Thames * English theater during the reign of King James I, from 1603 to 1625. In the history of English drama and literature, the "Jacobean" era of theater featured playwrights such as William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker, and John Webster. * Other Periods in English Theatre History: * The previous era was known as Elizabethan Theatre. (The reign of Queen Elizabeth lasted from 1558 - 1603). The era after the Jacobean period is known as Caroline Theater which lasted from 1625 until the mid-1640s when King Charles I was overthrown). * PLOT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS * The Tempest is a romantic comedy that observes the structure of a classical play, observing unities of time, place, and action. The play takes place in a single day in the single location of the enchanted island. All of the action of the main plot revolves around Prospero's plan to bring his betrayers to repentance so that he can forgive them and bring about total reconciliation, causing the play to end as a comedy with the protagonist overcoming his antagonist. The sub-plots reinforce the action and themes of the main plot. * Act one is largely introductory in nature, when Prospero tells Miranda their history and begins to plan a resolution to his exile on the enchanted island. Acts two, three, and