All of Shakespeare's plays were completely pre-cast. He wrote them with his company in mind. He wrote the funny parts to suit the sense of humour of whoever they had as a comedian: Will Kempe or Robert Armin. He wrote the male leads for Richard Burbage. And he wrote the female parts bearing in mind how many boy apprentices they had available since teenaged boys played all the female leads.
There were usually two boys who played female leads in the earlier plays, and who played off each other: Sylvia and Julia, Katharina and Bianca, The Princess and Rosaline, Hermia and Helena, Portia and Nerissa, Hero and Beatrice, Celia and Rosalind. In some of these plays, there were other significant female roles: Love's Labour's Lost and Midsummer Night's Dream. In the later plays it became more common for there to be only one young female lead: Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Troilus and Cressida, All's Well, Measure for Measure, Cymbeline and the Tempest are examples.
We have frustratingly little information about the operation of the company, and so it is hard to tell how long a boy actor's career might last, and so whether the boys that played in one play are likely to have played in another written two or three years later.
Women did not participate in Shakespearean plays. All roles, including female ones, were played by men.
Shakespeare is not the only dramatist of his time to write plays with leading female roles. John Webster's plays The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi also have strong female leads. The reason probably has to do with the quality of performers in the company. Shakespeare wrote specifically for the actors in his company, and clearly there were a number of talented boys for whom Shakespeare felt confident writing roles like Rosalind, Viola, Isabella and Helena.
Men because females werent allowed to act in those days.
I don't know what Elizabeth you are speaking of, but I presume it was because she was a female Shakespearean actress who was acting after the year 1660 sometime. Sometimes actresses play the male roles in Shakespeare as well.
All of the female roles were played by male actors in Shakespere's time.
Women did not participate in Shakespearean plays. All roles, including female ones, were played by men.
Shakespeare is not the only dramatist of his time to write plays with leading female roles. John Webster's plays The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi also have strong female leads. The reason probably has to do with the quality of performers in the company. Shakespeare wrote specifically for the actors in his company, and clearly there were a number of talented boys for whom Shakespeare felt confident writing roles like Rosalind, Viola, Isabella and Helena.
Probably not. All of the roles he played that we know of were men. It was said by a contemporary that he "favoured kingly roles", not queenly ones. The actors who did female impersonation were generally specialists at that art, but Shakespeare was not one of them.
Men because females werent allowed to act in those days.
In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act on the stage. All female roles had to be done by boys or young men. Therefore the playwrights of that time were restricted in the number of women's roles they could write and still have convincing "actresses".
I don't know what Elizabeth you are speaking of, but I presume it was because she was a female Shakespearean actress who was acting after the year 1660 sometime. Sometimes actresses play the male roles in Shakespeare as well.
All of the female roles were played by male actors in Shakespere's time.
Young boys played female parts. It was against the law for women to act.
Actors played all of Shakespeare's roles, because they were trained in acting.
In Shakespeare's time, all female roles were played by young boys or men because women were not allowed to perform on stage. This was a common practice due to societal norms and restrictions at the time.
The thing that is most true for someone watching a play in Shakespeare's day has to do with gender differences. Someone watching a play at the Globe Theater in Shakespeare's day will notice that all roles are played by males. This includes female roles.
We can only guess, since we have no cast lists for any early productions of Shakespeare. We have a record of a contemporary that Shakespeare preferred to take "kingly roles" which suggests that he might have been cast as Theseus.