Theatre (structure)

The masterpieces of Greek drama date from the 5th century BC. At that time, in Athens, the audience sit on the bare hillside to watch performances on a temporary wooden stage. In the 4th century a stone auditorium was built on the site.

An exclusively Greek contribution to architectural history is the raked auditorium for watching theatrical performances.

The ancient theater at Delphi, Greece. David Monniaux - Own work

The Ancient Greek theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number of people on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteen thousand. 

The theatre at Epidaurus is the earliest and best surviving example of a classical Greek stage and auditorium. Built on the west side of Cynortion Mountain, near modern Lygourio the ancient theatre was constructed by the architect Polykleitos the Younger in the late 4th century BC. At a maximum capacity of 13,000 to 14,000 spectators, the theatre hosted music, singing and dramatic games that were included in the worship of Asclepius. 

Epidaurus ancient theatre. By Olecorre

Practical acoustics begin in Greek theatres who have open vases strategically placed around them to enhance sound levels by resonance.

The Romans copied the Greek style of building, but tended not to be so concerned about the location, being prepared to build walls and terraces instead of looking for a naturally occurring site.

Roman Theater Orange, France. By Andim - Own work, 

During the Elizabethan era in England, the traveling actors began to perform in fixed theatre buildings. They evolved from the tradition of innkeepers offering street entertainers a place to perform. These playhouses were constructed of wooden framing, infilled with wattle and daub and roofed with thatch.

The first purpose-built playhouse in London was built by English actor James Burbage. He called it the Theatre. Trained as a joiner, Burbage was a leading member of Leicester's Men by 1572, then financed the erection of the Theatre and devoted himself to theatre management.

The spectators at Elizabethan theatres could, for the price of one penny, stand around the stage on three sides, or, for sixpence, sit in the galleries.

Elizabethan theatres flew different-colored flags outside to advertise the genre of the play taking place - red was for history, white for comedy and black meant a tragedy.

In 1591, London theatres were forced by law to close on Thursdays to give other entertainment, such as bear-baiting, a chance to thrive.

The plague closed the London theatres between 1592-4.

The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 by William Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men in London. The Globe was destroyed by fire in 1613 and Shakespeare lost much money in it. However, he was sufficiently wealthy to share in the building of the new Globe on the same site in June 1614 which was closed by an Ordinance issued in 1642.

Recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Dickbauch - Self-photographed

At early 17th century theatres, the food the audience ate seems principally to have been apples and pears (often used as ammunition at the players), also nuts (principally hazelnuts) and gingerbread. The drink offered was either water or bottle-ale.

Lisle's Tennis Court in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London became in 1661 the first public theatre in England to feature moveable scenery on sliding wings.

The phrase playing to the gallery meaning to appeal to popular taste dates from the mid 17th century. The highest, cheapest part of a theatre was the gallery, where the least refined members of the audience were. 

Pre-electricity theatre spotlights produced light by directing a flame at calcium oxide (quicklime). These kinds of lights were called limelights and this is the origin of the phrase "in the limelight" to mean "at the centre of attention". 

The oldest continually-operating theatre in the English-speaking world is The Theatre Royal, now part of the Bristol Old Vic. It was built during 1764–66 on King Street in Bristol and opened to audiences for the first time on May 30, 1766. The theatre has hosted a wide variety of productions over the years, including plays, musicals, and operas. It has also been home to many famous actors and actresses, including Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Theatre Roal.  Rbrwr at English Wikipedia.

The phrase "The Gods," meaning high, traditionally cheap seats in a theatre comes from London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where, around the early 19th century, the ceiling was decorated with paintings of classical gods.

The first female theatre manager was Mrs. John Drew, mother of actor John Drew the second, and grandmother of the famous Barrymores. She managed the Arch Street Theatre for 30 years after her husband died in 1850.

Bram Stoker, the Irish author of Dracula was the manager of London's Lyceum theatre.

The first theatre to be named after an actor was the Garrick Theatre, London, in 1889.

The London music-hall and variety theatre, The Coliseum, opened in 1904. It was the first English stage to be equipped with a revolve. 

The Apollo Theatre opened in New York City as a 'Negro vaudeville theatre' in 1934. It became the showplace for many of the great African-American entertainers, singers, groups and instrumentalists in the country. It is a noted venue for black performers, and is the home of Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated television variety show. 

The inside of the Apollo Theater as seen from the stage. David Shankbone

In 1962, Dame Peggy Ashcroft became the first British actress to have a theatre named after her in her lifetime — the Ashcroft, in her hometown of Croydon, South London.

London's Windmill Theatre whose slogan was "we never closed" closed in 1964.

Compton's Encyclopedia