What time of day were plays usually performed in Elizabethan theaters?

Answer 1

Plays were performed at three o'clock in the afternoon when they were performed in a circular open air theater. There was not sufficient lighting to hold plays for large audiences indoors at night during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. They could and did perform for smaller audiences at night indoors at court, at people's homes, at public halls, and at indoor theatres like the Blackfriars. Because the audiences had to be smaller, indoor theatres' ticket prices were much higher than those at the large public outdoor theatres.

Shakespeare attests to this procedure in A Midsummer Night's Dream, where Pyramus and Thisbe is performed on an indoor stage in "the three hours between after-supper and bed-time".

Answer 2

It depended entirely on where they were being performed. Performances at court or in indoor halls took place in the evening. See for example the play Pyramus and Thisbe performed for the Duke in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Duke says "what masques, what dances shall we have, to wear away this long age of three hours between our after-supper and bed-time?" The outdoor theatres on the other hand relied on sunlight which was at the proper angle to illuminate the stage from 3 to 6 p.m.

Answer 3

In the open-air public theatres the stage was lit with natural light. There were some indoor theatres such as the Blackfriars, where the stage must have been lit with candles or torches. Although these theatres could not serve as large an audience, because you had to be close to see what was going on in the dim light, they could perform in the winter when days were cold , short and dark. They could have performed at night in these theatres although we do not know if they did.

Answer 4

In the afternoon or evening. Open-air theatres like the Globe and Fortune staged their performances in the afternoon. Indoor theatres like the Blackfriars or the cockpit had performances in the evening.

Answer 5

It depended on what theatre they were playing in. If they were playing in one of the large outdoor theatres, the performances were afternoonish. If they were playing indoors at the Blackfriars or in someone's home, they could play in the evening or any other time of day.

Answer 6

It depended on the theatre and the type of lighting the company expected for the stage. If the stage was to be lit by natural light the play had to be performed during the daytime, usually in the afternoon. But some theatres were indoors and were lit by candlelight and plays could be put on there at night or during the winter when it was dark even in the daytime (and pretty cold to stand around for a couple of hours watching a play).

Answer 7

Most Elizabethan theatres were outdoor theatres lit by natural sunlight, so the ideal time for performance was in the afternoon. Some were indoor theatres lit by candlelight, so they could have performances any time.