Indoor Theatre

Indoor Theatre 

How were they different to outdoor playhouses?

•  smaller than outdoor playhouses, holding about 500 people, not thousands. 
•  built inside an existing building, so not open to the sky. 
• more expensive (ranging from 6d to 2s and 6d), compared with open yard standing (at 1d) as in  outdoor playhouses. • lit by candles as well as daylight through the windows. (1d=1p)

Who acted in indoor playhouses?

Until 1609 the indoor theatres were used by boy companies and adult companies played at the outdoor playhouses.They were made up of boys of any age between seven and their early twenties. They usually played just once a week. 

The audience was thought to be more educated and richer than a outdoor one. Scholars used to think indoor theatre plays had more music, more more small, sparkly props such as jewels and pearls, and more speeches than action.

How did things change?

There were practical reasons why some plays were better suited to indoor theatres. Indoor theatres had a small stage. There were also stools allowed on the stage: the most expensive seats, where rich ‘gallants’ sat to be seen as well as to watch. 

the smaller space and the candlelight enhanced a play’s magical effects. Shakespeare wrote The Tempest with the Blackfriars theatre in mind, as well as A Winter’s Tale and Cymbeline.

The candles also mean that there had to be breaks for people to trim the candles, or replace the burnt out ones.