Audiences

The first audiences at the Globe consisted of people from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds. Peasants, prostitutes, merchants, labourers, wealthy citizens and lords and ladies frequented the playhouses of Shakespeare’s London.

But play-going was viewed by some as idle and seedy. The 16th-century satirist, Thomas Nashe, tells us that ‘Gentlemen of the Court, the innes of Courte,’ and a ‘number of Captaines and Souldiers’ spent their time in London gambling, drinking, visiting brothels and seeing plays. Despite this, high-ranking visitors from other countries attended the playhouses as well and often commented on the wonder an joy of seeing plays in the giant wooden amphitheatres. After seeing Julius Caesar at the Globe in September of 1599, the Swiss traveller Thomas Platter remarks: ‘[I] saw the tragedy of the first emperor Julius Caesar with nearly 15 characters very well acted. At the end of the comedy they danced gracefully … two dressed in men’s and two in women’s clothes.’

Audiences sat or stood in the playhouse according to their social background. The ‘groundlings’ paid a penny top stand in the Yard. Paying an extra penny would get the wealthier sort into the galleries, and if playgoers paid a third penny, they could sit in comfort on a cushion. The most privileged seats in the house were up in the Lord’s Rooms, the space on the balcony level of the stage next to the musician’s gallery.

There is no evidence to suggest that Queen Elizabeth I or King James I visited the commercial playhouses, since the actors would perform for them at court. Instead, these special seats were usually occupied by dignitaries of high-ranking courtiers – it was the perfect place to see the rest of the audience and, of course, it bought the privilege of being seen by all.

Back to top