What Kind of Scenery & Props Were Used by Shakespeare?
- Most of the props used in the Elizabethan theater were simply handheld items that the actors could carry on to the stage. These included crowns, cauldrons, cages and furnishings such as fleeces. The prop cupboards of Shakespeare's companies also included plenty of weapons and armor, for battle scenes and for actors dressing as soldier characters, and these were likely real, not replicas.
- Elizabethan stages were sparser in terms of decoration when compared to the equivalent in later eras, but items such as furniture, including pieces like tables and thrones, were used to embellish a scene. In some cases, more elaborate sets were used; these included grassy banks, gallows frames and caves.
- Sometimes stage props served to recreate some special effect. Examples included fireworks, which were set off to replicate lightning in outdoor scenes, and actual pistols --- without the bullets --- which would be shot whenever military salutes or fighting needed to be shown. Even animals, such as dogs, were brought on stage in Shakespearean plays because creating a fake animal would have been more difficult.
- The stages used by the Elizabethans placed the audience at the front and the sides, so theater companies couldn't just take scenery on and off as they pleased. Instead, for scenes where something was to be suddenly revealed to the audience or a setting quickly created, a device called a discovery space would be utilized. The discovery space was generally accessed by a curtain, which would be pulled away by an actor to reveal a newly created set. An example of this device being used would be in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," for instance, where Capulet's tomb needs to be revealed at one point in the action.
- The costumes used in Shakespeare's theater companies were perhaps one of the most effective forms of props employed, allowing actors to reflect changes in character and even gender with relative ease. Many of these costumes captured the historical setting of specific Shakespearean plays; for example, togas and breastplates were worn in performances of "Titus Andronicus." Make-up, along with female clothing, were used to depict women characters, since Elizabethan laws forbade women to act on stage, while clothing associated with certain countries or backgrounds clearly indicated a character's nature to an audience.