What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theatre?

 Elizabethan England and the Theatre.

The theatre was what made London so famous, everyone attended. Rich or poor, everyone went. Mainly men attended but there were some woman who did go. Even the Royalty loved it, the Venetian Ambassador once bought all of the most expensive tickets. Not every actually went to the Theatre itself, but instead summand the actors to their Courts.

If you were poor you stood in the Yard. These people had many names, one being 'groundlings'. In the Yard there were no toilets, and you had to stand on sand and ash. You could buy apples, oranges, nuts and ale. If they didn't like the actors they would throw the food at them. To stand here it cost 1 penny. The next level was to sit on a bench, this cost 2 pennies. To add a cushion was another penny. The most expensive seats, were called the Lord's Rooms, to sit here cost 6 pennies. 

The Theatre was never quiet, the audience were more louder than the performers. Many thieves were lurking and fights always broke out. The crowds made it clear if they didn't like the show, by shouting and throwing food. At the end of a show music would always be played, at this point everyone was so drunk and would dance crazily. In 1612 the dancing from the audience became so violent and out of control they banned music being played at the end of a performance. 

The water was filthy so no one drank it. So people drank Ale, morning, lunch and dinner. This meant everyone was drunk all the time. So the streets were never quiet. People also emptied their 'potty chambers' out the window into the streets, meaning the streets stank, and diseases spread easier. 

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