When did plays take place?

Answer 1

Performances of Shakespeare's plays were given in mid-afternoon in the public theatres, but at night at court, in private houses and at indoor theatres. Performances in the dead of winter could only go on indoors not only because it was cold but also because it got dark so early.

The time settings of Shakespeare's plays vary. Many are not particularly specific, but those with a historical background (the English history plays, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra) could be fixed in time. A number of plays were set in a remote past which was strikingly like the time they were written. Thus Cymbeline is supposed to be in pre-Roman Britain, but the attitudes and behaviours are those of sixteenth-century England. The same is true of the plays set in Ancient Greece, like Pericles or A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Answer 2

Plays have been performed for centuries, with early forms dating back to Ancient Greece in the 5th century BCE. The modern theater as we know it began to evolve in the Renaissance period in the 14th to 17th centuries, with plays becoming popular entertainment in Europe. Today, plays are still performed worldwide in theaters, schools, and other venues.