At that time plays were performed in the courtyards of pubs or sometimes in the houses of aristocrats. The first real theatre to open in London was simply called The Theatre. It opened in 1576. The most famous theatre of al was The Globe, built in 1587 by Shakespeare’s theatre company.

Elizabethan theatres usually had room for several thousand people. Most of the audience watched the performances from an open space in front of the stage, called the pit. There were more expensive seats for the rich in the galleries surrounding the stage.

In Elizabethan times plays were performed in the afternoons because there was no artificial lighting.Women attended plays but often wore masks to hide their identities. However, women were not allowed to act in plays. Female roles were performed by bys. In Shakespeare’s time the part of Viola in Twelfth Night was played by a young man. This means that a boy acted as a woman who dressed as a young man. The same themes of mistaken identity and disguise in Twelfth Night are found in many of Shakespeare’s plays, particularly his comedies.