Trivia Fact 1 - There were no Elizabethan Theatres until 1576 - plays were performed in the courtyards of inns - they were referred to as 'inn-yards'
Trivia Fact 2 - James Burbage built the very first theatre in 1576 with his brother-in-law John Brayne, appropriately named 'The Theatre'.
Trivia Fact 3 - The Globe was built in a similar style to the Coliseum, but on a smaller scale - other Elizabethan Theatres followed this style of architecture - they were called amphitheatres.
Trivia Fact 4 - Elizabethan theatres were also used for bear baiting, gambling and for immoral purposes
Trivia Fact 5 - Elizabethan theatres attracted huge crowds - up to 3000 people
Trivia Fact 6 - Shakespeare and his company built TWO Globe Theatres!
Trivia Fact 7 - The Globe theatre was built by a carpenter called Peter Smith together with his workforce. They started building in 1597 and it was finished in 1598
Trivia Fact 8 - Many Londoners were strict Protestants - Puritans in fact, who abhorred the theatres and many of the people they attracted
Trivia Fact 9 - Objections to the Theatres escalated from the Church and the City of London Officials
Respectable citizens added even more objections about the rise in crime and the bawdy nature of some of the plays, fighting, drinking not to mention the risk of so many people and the spread of the Bubonic Plague! In 1596 London's authorities were unwilling to ignore the growing complaints any longer and they banned the public presentation of plays and all Theatres within the City limits of London
Trivia Fact 10 - All Theatres located in the City were forced to move to the South side of the River Thames
