Men and boys played these parts. It was considered indecent for women to appear on stage.
Actors were all men. It was illegal for a woman to act. Young boys played the parts of women.
In Shakespeare's own era, it was deemed highly improper for women to act in plays, so the parts were played by men, in particular slim, young boys whose voices hadn't yet changed.By the Restoration of the Monarchy (1660), the tradition was dropped, and actresses appeared on the English stage, although some parts, such as the nurse in Romeo and Juliet and the witches in Macbeth were still played by men for comic effect.
Young boys.
Did he personally? Probably not. In his time, most female roles were played by young boys. So by the time he was writing, he likely would have been too old for that sort of thing. But plenty of boys dressed up as girls to play Shakespearean parts. Juliet, Cordelia, Lady MacBeth, Ophelia, Desdemona - all played by boys dressed as girls.
Young boys played female parts. It was against the law for women to act.
Shakespeare. All the actors were male the female parts usually played by boys and young men.
In Shakespeare's day, all the female parts were played by boys.
The culmination of thousands of years of subjugation
Shakespeare's heroines were played by boys up to 1660 or so and by young women since.
Men and boys played these parts. It was considered indecent for women to appear on stage.
Boys played the parts of young women because their voices had not yet broken and their voices sounded more like women's. Women were not allowed on stage because it was considered indecent, even pornographic, for them to do so.
At the time, it was considered unseemly for women to be actors. The female roles were played by young men.
Actors were all men. It was illegal for a woman to act. Young boys played the parts of women.
Men only performed because there were no actresses until later on so youngs boys played the female parts.
In Shakespeare's own era, it was deemed highly improper for women to act in plays, so the parts were played by men, in particular slim, young boys whose voices hadn't yet changed.By the Restoration of the Monarchy (1660), the tradition was dropped, and actresses appeared on the English stage, although some parts, such as the nurse in Romeo and Juliet and the witches in Macbeth were still played by men for comic effect.
Young boys.