How did the audience behave during Shakespeare's plays?

Answer 1

As far as we can tell, they were reasonably well-behaved because they liked the plays. However, Elizabethan and Jacobean audiences could get very rowdy. There are a number of recorded incidents of fistfights and riots taking place among patrons of the Fortune Theatre, home of the Admiral's Men. There are also records of audiences throwing food at the actors if they didn't like the play; this is not known to have happened at the performance of a Shakespeare play, all of which were extremely popular.

Answer 2

On the lower floor there were many ruffians standing and they would chant and heckle to the actors. In the balcony, there were many posh rich people who did not watch the play but went 'to be seen'.

Answer 3

The audience must have liked the productions put on by the Lord Chamberlain's Men/ King's Men because they remained the most popular playing company until theatre was abolished in 1642. Shakespeare did not "put on" the plays, his company did.

Answer 4

Since there wasn't much to do at the time, people used to gather at the Globe Theatre whenever there was a Shakespear-play going on. (A kind of "social" thing)

And people didn't really behave very nicely, at all. They talked loud, shouted at the actors, didn't really pay that much attention to what was going on at the stage, and there were even several fights going on inside the theatre. Besides it was a nice opportunity for thieves (such as pickpockets), who could easily steal money from all the wealthy people gathered in there, since all the people in the theatre were standing really close to each other.

Someone even set fire on the theatre once, resulting in all the people panicking and literally pushed the walls down, since the construction of the building wasn't really good at the time.

But the Globe Theatre was of course rebuilt.

- So you could say that people behaved really ridiculously while being at the Globe Theatre.

Answer 5

If they liked the play, and they apparently liked most of Shakespeare's plays, they probably paid attention and listened carefully to the actors.

Answer 6

It is believed that Elizabethan audiences were fairly noisy and interacted with the actors on the stage.

Answer 7

Apparently the audiences were pretty rowdy, talking through the play, throwing things at the stage if they didn't like the entertainment, and sometimes breaking out in fights.

Answer 8

Rowdy