Playhouses and Theatres: Setting the Scene

In this blog, from archaeologist Brigid Geist, she looks in to just what makes a playhouse a playhouse, and a theatre a theatre.

Excavations at at The Stage and The Theatre in Shoreditch have revealed the archaeological remains of two of the most important of Shakespeare’s playhouses. Before these two playhouses, entertainers would travel the country performing in towns and villages. Seen as vagrants, they were often kicked out by village elders. These Elizabethan playhouses were designed to give these entertainers a permanent place to perform for  an audience.