Elizabethan Public Theatres

Timeline

1. 1576The Theatre, Shoreditch · LondonJames Burbage built The Theatre in Shoreditch, England's first permanent public theatre, replacing travelling troupes and inn-yard performances with a wooden polygonal open-air courtyard and tiered seating, establishing the commercial theatre model.
2. 1580–1590Bankside, south bank of the Thames · SouthwarkIn the 1580s theatres moved to the south bank and were built in density: round wooden theatres such as the Rose (1587) opened in succession, court serving troupes and merchants ran them as joint ventures, repertories centred on English history and classical adaptations, and audiences included citizens, apprentices and nobles.
3. 1590–1613Around the Globe theatre · LondonFrom the late 1590s to the 1610s, south bank venues such as the Globe became the home ground of Shakespeare and the King's Men, where works like Henry IV and Hamlet premiered; the public theatre became an important public space for English literature and social opinion in the Tudor–Stuart era.