Life in Elizabethan England - EdexcelLeisure, theatre and pastimes

Learn more about Elizabethan culture and the golden age in this podcast.

Listen to the full series on BBC Sounds.

Theatre

Purpose-built theatres were popular and offered tiered seating with prices suitable for people from all ranks of society. Many nobles protected groups of actors and became their patrons.

Opposition to the theatre

Not everyone approved of theatres. There was some opposition from:

• The Puritans - they believed theatres were the work of the devil, spreading rude and lewd ideas encouraging poor moral behaviour. They also associated the theatre with the Romans, who had persecuted Christians.
• The authorities - an extract from a law passed in 1572 stated that: “All common players…who wander about and have not a license shall be taken, adjudged and deemed rogues, vagabonds and sturdy beggars.”

Pastimes

By Elizabeth’s time the upper classes saw their culture as superior. Huge inequalities existed within Tudor society and whilst the theatre was universally popular there were two cultures:

• Higher society - the invention of the printing press and spread of education meant that gentlemen were part of an elitist culture involved in intellectual pursuits, such as reading the classics, studying music, hunting and hawking.
• Lower society - the vast majority were involved in popular cultural pursuits, which gave them a brief escape from their harsh living conditions. Inns and taverns were an important part of every social ritual. Drinking, gambling on bear-baiting, cockfighting, cards, dice and racing were popular. Tobacco smoking was new and expensive but growing by the end of Elizabeth’s reign. Ordinary people also took part in wrestling, running races and football.