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There is an oft-repeated story that they used to fly different coloured flags at the Globe Theatre (and, one presumes, at the other playhouses) to let potential audience members know what type of play was being shown. They were either Red, White or Black depending on if the play of the day was a History, Tragedy or a Comedy play. A white flag was for comedy or a light subject, black was for a dark subject usually associated with death and red was for a Play about History (usually associated with blood).
That's a pretty story but unfortunately many plays do not fit comfortably into those three categories. Is Macbeth a tragedy or a history? What about Richard III? Is Troilus and Cressida a comedy or a tragedy? What about Cymbeline? Shakespeare himself laughs at the categorization by putting these words into the mouth of Polonius in Hamlet: "The best players in the world, for tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral, pastoral-comical, historical-pastoral, tragical-historical, tragical-comical-historical-pastoral . . ." So what colour flag would they fly for a tragical-comical-historical-pastoral play?
There does not seem to be any genuine evidence for this practice and since it does not really make much sense, we should be dubious about it.
On the other hand, contemporary pictures of the theatres do show them flying flags. Some people say that when the flag went up the mast, it meant that a play was going to be performed that day, without saying anything about what kind of play. This would certainly get the message over a large area that the playhouse was open for business. It would be a good way to advertise the show and it is more plausible than the coloured flags theory.
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What is banner flying at the theatre in Elizabethan time mean?
Banner flying at the theatre in Elizabethan times referred to the practice of flying flags or banners above the theatre's roof to indicate that a play was being performed that day. The flags would have different colors or designs to represent the type of play, such as a tragedy or comedy. It served as a visual advertisement to attract audiences passing by and inform them of the performances happening inside.
When did The Young Elizabethan end?
The Young Elizabethan was created in 1948.
Did Shakespeare live in the Elizabethan society?
If by "the Elizabethan society" you mean all the people who lived in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, yes, Shakespeare was one of those. He was born in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who died when he was 39.
What is elizabethan clothing?
Elizabethan clothing is clothing during the Elizabethan age. In other words, this is the age of Shakespeare and the bubonic plague.
Who were the yeomanry of the Elizabethan England?
Its is the the middle-class citizens of Elizabethan times
Why were Elizabethan playhouses shut down?
Because of Khaleel in 8HN
What are the two main playhouses from the Elizabethan period?
The Gray's Inn and Whitehall
How was Shakespeare theatre shaped?
For many years it was thought that the Globe and other outdoor Elizabethan playhouses were octagonal, but archaeological research on the foundations of the Globe and Rose playhouses proves that they in fact were twenty-sided polygons.
What was the difference between public theaters and private theaters during the Elizabethan Period?
Actually in Elizabethan era theaters were called playhouses and I have found no reference to public playhouses so they were all private. Playhouses were also not considered the best places to go and were considered to be "dens of iniquity encouraged delight in idleness, excessive vanity, revelling, luxury, wantonness, lasciviousness, whoredoms" The long association between prostitution and the stage made the playhouse a very rowdy place.
How did the Elizabethan theatres advertise performance going to be held the same day?
In Elizabethan theaters, flags were flown on the day of the performance to alert the people. The color of the flags indicated the type of play that was going to be performed. The color black symbolized a tragedy and comedy had a white flag.
What other popular theaters were there during the Globe Theatre's time 1599-1613?
The Curtain, the Fortune, the Rose, the Red Bull, Blackfriars, Whitefriars, the Cockpit, and others were playhouses in Elizabethan and Jacobean times.
Where were most theaters built during the Elizabethan period?
Most of the English playhouses were built outside of the actual city of London, either in Bankside (Southwark) to the South, or in various places to the North, to avoid the laws of the city.
What kind of stage is coming back from Shakespeare's time?
Thrust stages, which have audiences on three sides, are becoming increasingly popular and more common than proscenium stages. Elizabethan playhouses all had thrust stages.
What was the sign to let londoners know that there would be a play that day?
In the Elizabethan period, between 1576 and 1603, most of the acting was going on in large outdoor theatres, open to the wind and rain and snow. Generally there was a play on every afternoon every day of the week except Sundays, unless the playhouses were closed for some reason, and not in the winter when it got too cold and the players played indoor venues. At least that is true of the three playhouses that had permanent companies: The Red Bull, The Theatre (later, the Curtain, and still later, almost at the end of the period, the Globe) and The Rose (later The Fortune in 1600). Other playhouses had occasional performances between blood sports. If entertainment was forthcoming, they would fly a flag above the theatre, as shown in many drawings of these theatres. It is not clear what these flags looked like. With the move to smaller indoor playhouses like the Blackfriars, Whitefriars and Cockpit, this flag thing went out of fashion.
Is the Elizabethan theater also the globe theater?
No, the terms are not synonymous. In the phrase "Elizabethan theatre" the word "theatre" does not always imply a building, but more often the style, customs, practises, plays, playwrights and actors which defined the theatre community in London during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). It can also mean a building built during that period specifically as a venue for play performance--what was at that time called a playhouse. The Globe Theatre was only one (although the most famous one) of these Elizabethan playhouses. Others included the Rose, the Swan, the Curtain, the Fortune and the Red Bull.
What is banner flying at the theatre in Elizabethan time mean?
Banner flying at the theatre in Elizabethan times referred to the practice of flying flags or banners above the theatre's roof to indicate that a play was being performed that day. The flags would have different colors or designs to represent the type of play, such as a tragedy or comedy. It served as a visual advertisement to attract audiences passing by and inform them of the performances happening inside.
How would you say arent in Elizabethan times?
If you mean to describe a time that was not Elizabethan, you could refer to the time before or after the Elizabethan era, such as the Tudor period or the Stuart period.
