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Who wrote this play?
Willy Shakes
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What was the name of the first purpose built theatre built and what was it called?
The Red Lion in the 1560s
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What is a similarity between Elizabethan playhouse and a Roman amphitheatre?
Both were designed so that everyone could hear the performance
Elizabethan theatres also had a Roman architectural influence
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Where did actors perform before theatres opened in England?
- Travelled across country and performed in pubs and inns such as Grey's Inn in Middle Temple Hall, London.
- Or performed in open air courtyards
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What was a livery and why did actors wear it?
A uniform worn to associated themselves to an aristocrat who supported them financially.
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When did Shakespeare's theatre company obtain Blackfriars theatre?
1608
It was a super desirable theatre
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How were Elizabethan theatre audiences structured?
In a reflection of the classes, with the galleries being the most exclusive places to sit and standing being the cheapest. Gathers would walk throughout the audience and collect money in moneyboxes
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What proportion of London's population would go and see a play each week in Elizabethan times?
1/6
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Why were theatres shows so important for the aristocrats of the time?
- It was an opportunity to show off, they were like celebrities
- Social events to meet other rich people
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Why did some aristocrats take issue with actors wearing certain costumes?
Actors weren't the richest of people generally and they would wear costumes above their rank eg dressing as King etc
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Give an example of a famous actor who played in Shakespeare's plays
William Kempe. Specialised in comic roles
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What was the name of Shakespeare's theatre company?
The Lord Chamberlain's Men
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When did playwrights names start being published on their scripts?
- 1580s.
- Christopher Marlowe was one of the first
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When was the Folio published?
1623
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Into what categories are Shakespeare's plays divided?
- Tragedies
- Comedies
- Histories
(rather than chronologically)
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What distinguishes Shakespeare from other Elizabethan playwrights? 2 things
- He wrote independently whereas a lot of playwrights wrote collaboratively
- He wrote his own plays rather than being freelance and commissioned to do them
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What is the framing structure of amnd?
athens - woods - athens
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Order these into the first introduced to the last in AMND:
- artisans
- lovers
- fairies
- duke
duke - lovers - artisans - fairies
and they leave in the same order
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How is AMND designed for doubling/multi-roling?
Having fairies and artisan characters that arent on stage at the same time
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How many men were in Shakespeare's theatre company?
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Women did not perform on stage. Who played the parts of women in Shakespeare's plays?
Young boys
Shakespeare's company was adult men and this may account to why there are fewer female roles
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What did Robert Cox write?
- 1640s: Robert Cox writes ‘The Merry Conceited Humours of Bottom the Weaver’, abbreviating Midsummer Nights Dream to solely the artisans' scenes (Bottom etc)
- people liked these characters because they were funny
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What is the meter of AMND?
iambic pentameter, the default of blank verse
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What fraction of lines in AMND rhyme?
just over half
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Why did plays have a regular rhythm?
It was much easier for audiences to hear through the crowds and was more interesting
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What is the difference between the way the aristocrats and the artisans speak?
- Aristocrats - verse
- Artisans - prose
It is funny when the two sides communicate with each other as it doesn't really work
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Who spends most of the play unconcious?
Titania
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How is the illusion that the fairies are small created? 2 things
- Through their language (short rhyming lines w/ 2 stresses instead of 5 and vocab)
- names, as they would have been played by average sized people
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What are the reasons for performing AMND in Elizabethan/original style? 3 things
- That was the time it was written
- True to the original
- Important to preserve the history
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What are the reasons for performing AMND in a modern style? 3 things
- The actors in Elizabethan theatres were acting as people from the Elizabethan times, therefor a modern actor should act it in a modern way.
- Keeps it interesting for new audiences
- Allows it to be reinvented to suit more modern ideas
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How would actors on stage show that it was dark?
- Pretending not to see each other, wandering around aimlessly with arms out etc (Usually added to comedy)
- Holding torches or things to create light (More appropriate for tragedies)
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Give the example for a modern adaptation of AMND. Year, director, key points
- 1970
- Peter Brook
- Brightly lit, minimal set
- Clothing of the 1970s (contemporary to performance)
- Focus on colour
- Use of levels, having actors on swings
- characters not performing would sit around the top of the stage watching action - awareness of theatre
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When was AMND first performed?
1595
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What is significant about the 1662 performance of AMND?
It was considered 'ridiculous' by Samuel Pepys and outdated as restoration comedy was popular by then.
There were also women on the stage by this time
after this edits were made to the play to make it better and was eventually turned into The Fairy Queen in 1692
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Who wrote a suit of music for AMND and when?
Mandelson in 1843
after it became popular again in the Romantic period
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What was significant about the 1856 production of AMND?
A huge production with 100s of fairies and a real emphasis on English culture eg fairies dancing around maypoles
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What was significant about the 1911 production of AMND?
Real trees and live rabbits used in performance
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What was the latest large production of AMND?
Emma Rice's interpretation in 2016 which caused controversy
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When was sound first heard in film versions of AMND?
1935
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In which year was the first recording of a Shakespearean play made?
1899
A completely silent and black and white version of King John
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What was Laurence Olivier's opionion of Shakespeare on film?
He didn't think it could translate well onto film, but then was a bit of a hypocrite because he directed Henry V in 1944
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What did Roger Manvell say about the difference between audience expectations for stage and screen?
'In theatre we accept theatricality; in the cinema we demand actuality'
Roger Manvell
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What are the differences between stage and screen? 4 things
- Stage is controlled environment
- More senses can be incorporated on stage
- Intimacy with stage, not with screen
- Stage is unique performance
- In film we can't see exits or entrances
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What were the three main styles of theatre?
- 1. Amphitheatre style
- 2. Hall Playhouse
- 3. Court Theatre
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What were the characteristics of hall style playhouses?
- not much known but:
- - Smaller than round playhouses
- - high roofs
- - wooden benches for sitting with seats furthest back being the cheapest
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What was more important in the Elizabethan times, seeing the play or hearing it?
- Hearing it
- That's why hall theatres valued the closest seats as the most expensive
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What were the characteristics of court playhouses?
- Performed at court
- Seasonal performances
- Complex stage designs
- perfect view must be given to the King or highest ranking member in court
- lit by candles
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What are the differences between medieval and Elizabethan theatre? 4 things
- Elizabethan theatre was stationary, medieval moved around
- Medieval theatre was based in religion, not so much with Elizabethan
- Medieval theatre was free, Elizabethan was paid
- Acting was not a profession in medieval times, was in Elizabethan
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What are the similarities between medieval and Elizabethan theatre? 4 things
- Only men
- Multiroling
- For entertainment
- Used in celebration
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