Globe Theatre Audience

The Globe theatre was open to audiences in the summer and the performances took place by daylight; the King's company usually began to play in the month of May. Days out at the Globe Theatre would have been an exciting event. The grounds surrounding the Globe Theater would have been bustling with people. There would be Stalls selling merchandise and refreshments creating a market day atmosphere. Non playgoers would flock to the Globe Theater to go to the market stalls and 'soak in ' the holiday-like atmosphere.

What a treat the theatre was for the people of Elizabethan London. Histories, Tragedies and Comedies written by the greatest playwright of them all - William Shakespeare. The popularity of the theatre reached people from all walks of life - from Royalty to the Nobility and the Commoners. What was a day out at the Elizabethan theatre like for the audiences? Where did they sit? How much did it cost? What did they eat? What were the amenities like? How did illiterate members of the public know what plays were being presented? The London play goers loved the Globe Theatre! It was their opportunity to see the great plays and to see each other!

• Globe Audience Capacity - the Globe theatre could hold 1500 people in the audience and this number expanded to 3000 with the people who crowded outside the theatres
• Royalty - Queen Elizabeth I loved watching plays but these were generally performed in indoor playhouses for her pleasure. She would not have attended the plays performed at the amphitheatres such as the Globe
• The Nobles - Upper Class Nobles would have paid for the better seats in the Lord's rooms paying 5d for the privilege
• The Lower Classes, the Commoners, were called the Groundlings or Stinkards, and would have stood in the theatre pit and paid 1d entrance fee. They put 1 penny in a box at the theatre entrance - hence the term 'Box Office'