Did Shakespeare's plays have women actors?

Answer 1

The original stagings didn't. Having female performers on stage was largely seen as immoral at the time. This view is a sort of remnant from the period the Catholic Church had dominance as England's primary religious group. The Church believed at points in the Middle Ages that all non-spiritual theatrical productions were blasphemous. Faced with this obstacle, the Elizabethan acting company used young men and boys without beards and whose voices hadn't yet changed to portray the parts of women.

Answer 2

All actresses are female. There were no actresses in England until 1660, years after Shakespeare's death. It was something no self-respecting woman would do, and the government passed laws against women who were not self-respecting. At least they didn't want them to advertise themselves on stage, thank you very much.

Shakespeare did not write a play and then try to find actors to play in it. He knew who the actors would be, and wrote his plays with them in mind, including the boys who played the women's parts.

Answer 3

Prior to 1660 in England, women were not permitted to act on stage, even in female roles. Boys and men played the female roles. Nowadays it is uncommon to see the female roles played by males, but not uncommon at all to see the male roles played by women.