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The fading economy aside there remained a general feeling of national confidence and the end of the Cold War provided a further "feel good" factor.

The Manchester "baggy" music scene was making waves across the world as were the newly privatised British companies.

(above information: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9411629/Britain-in-1989.html)

People worked hard, played hard and made lots of money. One of the main ways in which people played hard was by attending acid house parties and other various raves at which they would buy the go to drug which was ecstasy (MDMA). This was an easy drug to hand out because it is in the form of pills and allows individuals to become lost in their own world, the pill allowed individuals to dance all night and stopped the body from needing to urinate. This allowed the youth of the 80's to relax and dance right through to the early hours of the morning.

The drug's side effects included a constant thirst (due to dehydration) and so at raves, those who attended would constantly have bottles of water by their side. There was also very little hanky panky at raves because ecstasy reduced interests in pleasure or sex. This is most likely because of the significant reduction in brain activity that the drug caused. People would also sweat and have involuntary jaw clenching and teeth grinding.

Ecstasy was the perfect drug because it allowed individuals to partake in vigorous amounts of activities for extended amounts of time. The drug is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream in less than an hour and affects the metabolism. Despite the drug being extremely popular to the youth of the 80's, it wasn't the only largely and widely used drug. Acid also had a huge impact on the lives of Britain's youth.

Acid (LSD) (also in pill form) has some similar effect to ecstasy such as dry mouth but also other side effects such as tripping which includes mood swings and hallucinations.

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/margaret-thatcher-war-on-rave-acid-house-boys-own

"I suppose you could say that people maybe wanted to escape the negativity of politics at the time, or that they'd just fucking given up."      -Cymon Eckel


"Rave was more about unity...rave did a lot of good things to make the racial divide less of a divide."" -Gavin Watson

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/margaret-thatcher-war-on-rave-acid-house-boys-own

Thatcher's children were the youth of the late 70's, 80's and early 90's that fought back against the social norm and chose to be themselves and seek a freedom that hadn't previously been unlocked.

The summer of 89 was known as 'The Second Summer of Love' and included many illegal raves that were top secret. The venues of the raves varied from fields, woods and warehouses and invitation was open to all and spread via flyers. After the police caught wind of this, raves became top secret and invitation eventually was revealed via coding, phone lines that were only available at certain times or pirate radio stations. There was always one thing that was certain, the youth would get their moment to let loose.

Modern alterations:

Measure for Measure was first performed in 1604 but now that we're performing it in 2017 we are making our own alterations. However, this is not the first time that a modern version of Measure for Measure has been performed. In 2004 'Cheek By Jowl' created a Russian version of the play which was produced in Moscow. This version highlighted the social and political issues in Russia and so its audience (being a Russian audience) were able to relate to it completely despite it being a Shakespearean play. The amazing reviews are definitely inspiring and make our '1989 version' more exciting because it counts as evidence that we could potentially create a really fun and relatable piece of theatre. The 'Provost' character appears to take up the role of a policeman but it isn't completely clear as there is little information on characters other then the 3 main ones. However, the Provost in this version compared to our own don't actually differ that much and yet create the same effect of relatability.

Sourced from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMkstSCaGx8

Shakespeare Today

http://imogen.shakespearesglobe.com/#shakespeares-cymbeline

I recently watched a modern version of Shakespeare's 'Cymbeline' at The Globe called 'Imogen'.  Even the name of the production made the performance better because Imogen is a more common name in today's era compared to Cymbeline which would have been more common during Shakespeare's time. The themes in the show were very relatable, in fact one of the most relatable things in young audiences perspectives was probably the casts costumes. All the characters were dressed in either 'Nike' or Adidas' branding (depending on what side they were on). This alone made the production a lot more modern, along with modern music such as Skepta's 'Shut Down'. The relatability made the entire performance more entertaining because it meant that Shakespeare's language became less foreign to the audience (and personally, I found that I barely even noticed a huge difference in the Shakespearean language compared to today's language). This is unlike a traditional version of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' that I have previously watched. I found the play interesting to watch because of the magical element to the storyline but found it difficult to decode the language.

In addition, the technology and effects used in Imogen were also very sleek and professional which would have differed from a Shakespearean play in Elizabethan England or the traditional style of one. For example, Imogen used strobe and the cast bungy jumping during the fight scene. This was really interesting to watch and unlike anything I've ever seen in any production. By doing this, there was always a rush of energy and adrenaline that the audience could experience with the actors on stage. Another thing that made Imogen stand out was the fact that there was naturalist acting used throughout the play rather than a more melodramatic style which can often be the case with Shakespeare's work. Because of the natural, relatable atmosphere that was created, the audience could grasp an intimate understanding of each character and their struggle in the context that it was presented to them in.

Taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMHvEHksHIM

Taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c9RpRU38So

I also watched a modern version of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' which focused in the comedy within the text and how they could relate that to a modern audience. The cast's costumes were also more on the modern side. However, A Midsummer Night's Dream' is rather on the fantasy side and so it's not as technical as other shows can be. However, no plays have been as clear as Imogen was.

Theatre's, Actors and Acting in Shakespeare's Time

Information sourced from: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/files/2013/10/playhouses.pdf
https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/files/2014/01/actors.pdf


Playhouse's were a venue to Elizabethan theatre, there were also other places in which theatre took place such as amphitheatres and the yards of inns.
Image sourced from: http://shalt.dmu.ac.uk/


The layout of Playhouses:

-Playhouses were octagonal or rounded structures that surrounded a small stage that was raised from the ground. The stage is where the actors performed.

-The structure was outside and open however had a roof over both the stage and the several levels of audience seating. The roof above the stage was called 'the heavens' (however the 'Rose' theatre may have not had one). This is also where special effects were produced.

-The centre yard was open to the sky and usually contained the poorer audience members which stood to watch plays.

-Behind the stage were rooms used for storage and as changing rooms,

The Playhouses' stages resembled that of a thrust stage in the sense that there was audience on more or less all three sides of the stage. Most of the time under 10 actors (maximum) could be on stage at the same time because of their small size. And a huge difference between stages in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era is that only males could perform in the plays. Young men played girls and women and some older men played old women. Women did try performing in plays during the era but it didn't go down well with the audience and these playhouse's was vandalised in the audience's disgust.

In today's theatre we also don't expect to see an actor playing the role of a clown simply because times have changed and it's very rare that individuals are able to have the occupation of a clown, let alone for it to be put in plays. However, there are still comedic characters in most plays to create the same type of comic relief as the clown characters would have.

Similarly, as we have gained more knowledge and have invented more things, artificial lighting and extravagant scenery play a huge role in modern theatre. However, during Shakespeare's time there was no scenery or props. This was fine for past audiences because they didn't really know what scenery or props were, but if today's audience were deprived of scenery and props, it would probably trigger negative critical reviews.

In an actor's point of view (aside from acting being a male profession only), script lines were learnt in a completely different way. Shakespeare only gave his actors their own lines and their cues to learn in comparison to the entire play which each actor would be given today. This was done because scripts were written by hand and so it took a lot of time for the scripts to be produced. On top of that, individuals pirated scripts if they were able to come across the text and so this methods made it harder for scripts to be copied. The copies are often know as 'bad quartos'. In fact even some of Shakespeare's own plays are rumoured to be bad quaros'.

Shakespeare's London and Elizabethan Audiences

Most plays were performed outside of London in places such as Bristol because thease places had proper theatres whereas places like London either didn’t have any or they weren’t yet built.

What was London like in Elizabethan times?

Only wealthy traders and manufacturers worked and lived in London which was handy because they were always able to afford the theatre. London was also home to many migrants that came from the countryside and Europe. In fact the population grew from 50,000 residents to over 200,000.

St Paul's Cathedral was a big landmark at time and it invited many crowds because it was a place to socialise, do business and worship. However, the Cathedral was also a place in which prostitutes and pickpockets thrived.

The main way out of town was either by crossing the famous London Bridge or by catching a river taxi (a boat that crossed the River Themes like the bridge).

Who were attending the theatre?

By the 1600s, London theatres had 20,000 theatre goers per week. London also happened to be home to Royalty and the nobility as well as rich noblemen became patrons or theatre companies that gave the local theatres financial support.

The Globe was built in 1599 and seated 3000 people because it was such a popular means of entertainment at the time. Everyone attended the theatre but dependant on class and income, were either seated or stood in different areas. Standing cost 1 penny, 2 pennies for seating, 3 pennies for seating and a cushion and up to 6 pennies for the most expensive seating areas of the Globe. Many people that attended the theatre and were standing complained of the smell. They were able to to purchase and eat apples, nuts, oranges, gingerbread and drink ale during the performances; however, there were no toilets and many people urinated on the floor and unwashed people smelt. Manors were also very different back then and so rights and unpolite behaviour was also very common.

Royalty loved the theatre and Elizabeth the First and James the First summoned them to perform in their private courts. The theatre however did have competition because cock fighting and bear baiting were a common and well liked means of entertainment.

Shakespearean theatre always used male actors to play both the female and male roles. However, a theatre outside of London held a show in which females played the female roles and males played the male’s roles. This however didn’t go down well with the audience who were outraged and responded by throwing apples at the female performers and damaging the theatre’s furniture as well as hissing at the performers.

Information sourced from (http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/fact-sheets)

Shakespeare's Life and Biography

Shakespeare is believed to have been born on April 23rd 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon and to have died there 50 years later on the same date in 1616. That means that he was alive over 400 years ago; many records from the Elizabethan period were lost and so there aren’t a lot of certain facts on what was and what wasn’t for Shakespeare. What is known is that he was Baptiste in Stratford -upon-Avon (which is 100 miles Northwest of London) on April 26th 1564. His Baptism is what his birth is estimated from because he would have received it a few days after birth.

There is also evidence to support the fact that William Shakespeare grew up, had a family and bought property in Stratford-upon-Avon. His parents were John and Mary Shakespeare and he had 7 siblings. William was the oldest surviving child; the first two girls died during infancy. This left him with three younger brothers: Gilbert, Richard and Edmund. He also had two younger sisters: Anne (who dies at the age of 7) and Joan. His father was a soft letherworker and made garments such as gloves before becoming the town bailiff. He wasn’t the town bailiff for very long for unknown reasons and went out of view from the public eye. Shakespeare would have most likely attended Stratford’s grammer school because of his Father’s authority as a bailiff. In the school he would have attended Latin classes where he would have written, read and acted in the language. He would’ve left school around the age of 15 and met his wife Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 yrs, when she was 26 yrs old. During the time period, people usually got married later but Anne was pregnant and so an emergancy wedding took place.

Shakespeare continued to grow up in Stratford-upon-Avon, had a family there and later bought property there. However he didn’t work there because there wasn’t much oppertunity for careers in theatre; London was the land in which theatre thrived. Their first child, a girl, was born 6 months after the couple got married, followed by their two boys Judith and Hamnet (who died at the age of 11 yrs). Shakespeare was often away from Stratford-upon-Avon and became prosperous and well known in London mainly as a playwright although he did act and was the partner in a leading acting company. During his stays in London, he lives at St Helen’s, Paris Gardens and Silver Street althoguh was repetedly kicked out for not paying his taxes.

During his final years, Shakespeare went back to Stratford-upon-Avon and bought the largest property in the area for his family to live in.

Inspirations:

Shakespeare was inspired by many other classical authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400), Plutarch (46-120 AD) and the Bible (Macbeth especially).



(Above information sourced from

http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeares-Life/

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/fact-sheets)

Setting the scene - Life in Elizabethan England

• Facts:
  • Heaths were seen as horrific and ugly, unlike the scenic and uplifting connotations they may have today.
  • Life in the countryside was not pleasant. The people who lived there were poor and often there was a large sized family that lived in each individual home. It was typical for 7 or 8 people to share small 1 room cottages. The conditions of these homes was very cramped and dark on account of the small windows that lined the wall. The windows were literally holes in the wall and so these homes were also very cold as only shutters could block out the cold. an open fire would be made inside the home in an attempt to keep the home as warm as possible however the small windows and tiny hole in the roof (the chimney before it had evolved) meant that the room would always be full of smoke which affected the health of poor Elizabethans. Even in the summer, the small windows allowed a very small amount of light to enter the home. Candles were instead used for light but as rarely as possible because they were also really expensive.
  • The rural poor in Elizabethan England couldn't afford many possessions either. They only had basic things such as pots, forks, baskets and a bench. The floor became beds for them.
  
  
  • Most countrymen fall into 1 of 3 categories:
  
  
  
           1 - Yeoman (Rents or owns his own farm. He employees workers)
  
  
           2 - Husbandman (Rents the farm that he works on)
  
  
           3 - Labourers (Work on someone else's farm)
  
  
  
  • Sometimes you would earn your stay in a barn if you were a casual worker.
  • The money In Elizabethan times was called 'The Groat' (aka fourpence/4d) which was a 20p shaped piece of silver that weighs 2.1 grams. The groat was first established in medieval times. Labourers earned 1 groat per day which was
  • Lemons (3d) were more expensive then they are now (rough ration = £75). And chickens (4d) were a lot cheaper then they are today (equivalent to £100).
  • With wages of 4 d a day, you could afford a loaf of bread, some butter and cheese, 4 small pieces of meat, 3 small pieces of fish and some ale to drink (couldn't drink water because it was polluted). This leaves enough money for a husband and wife but no money for firewood, clothes, money to feed the children or rent. Marriage and children wasn't a choice for some that couldn't afford to make enough money.
  
  
  Above information sources from : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01d4279
  
  
  

  Taken from https://prezi.com/shgf1s4r5yz8/shakespeare-historical-and-social-context/

  
  

  Taken from https://prezi.com/shgf1s4r5yz8/shakespeare-historical-and-social-context/

  
  
  
  
  Population:
  
  
  ‘When Elizabeth I (1533–1603) became queen there were about 2.8 million people in England. The population rose significantly during her reign, to about 4.1 million. Many people lived in the countryside, but in the sixteenth century the town population grew at a greater rate. (sourced from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/daily-life-elizabethan-era)’
  
  
  
  
  
  Jobs:
  
  
  Much of society was unemployed because there were not a lot of jobs available at the time. However for those that were able to work were only allowed specific jobs depending on their class:

  taken from https://prezi.com/rwyyj0d8dvct/elizabethan-era-occupations-jobs/

  
  
  

  taken from https://prezi.com/rwyyj0d8dvct/elizabethan-era-occupations-jobs/

  
  
  

  taken from https://prezi.com/rwyyj0d8dvct/elizabethan-era-occupations-jobs/

  
  
  Entertainment:
  
  
  People enjoyed things such as the theatre which was the most popular type of entertainment at the time. Other things such as public execution (especially hanging) and bear baiting (eventually there was a rule made that meant that theatre was not performed on Thursdays so that the day could be reserved for bear baiting) were dark forms of entertainment that kept society amused. Less extreme things such as chess, checkers, tennis, going to the local pub for a drink and song and community celebrations such as May Day.
  
  
  The upper class also enjoyed other forms of entertainment such as tournaments of fencing and hunting.
  
  
  
  Religion:
  
  
  The popular religions at the time were catholic and protestant. Religion was very strong and important.
  
  
  
  Money
  
  
  
  
  Superstition:
  
  
  - Witches (Witches were often connected with flying broomsticks and potions and were thought of as bad. If you were thought to be a witch you would be burnt at the stake or drowned. One way to check for a witch would be to put a new born baby in water. If the baby drown then it wasn’t a witch, if the baby would float then it would be a witch and so would then be burnt -either way the baby would die. Also, being left handed was considered as a trait of witches and so many left handed people tried to learn how to write with their right hand)
  - Sneezing (this is where the saying ‘god bless you’ came from because it was thought that the individual was sneezing out an evil spirit)
  - Eclipse
  - The seventh son of a seventh son
  - Peacock feathers (this was because the pattern on the feather resembled that of the evil eye and so was connected to the devil)
  - Shoes
  - Spilling salt and pepper (this is where throwing salt over your shoulder comes from)
  - Touch wood
  - Ladders (this is where walking under ladders and bad luck being related comes from)
  - black cats (often associated with witches. It was thought that witches could shapeshift into these animals. This is where a cat crossing your path being unlucky comes from)
  
  
  Medicine:
  (Image taken from https://www.emaze.com/@AIZLTTOT/Presentation-Name)
  
  
  There weren’t many cures to treat diseases during the Elizabethan period which proved devastating when things such as smallpox, malaria, child-bed fever and the plague arose. There was not much medical education provided for those that wanted it and so doctors charged a very high price for its patients. Because of this, it was mainly only the upper class that were able to receive treatment. Doctors wore special bird masks that contained nice smelling substances such as flowers, herbs and spices in the beak because they believed that the bubonic plague was spreading through the air. This was not the case; however, London was too crowded and unsanitary so rats festered in the rubbish that was on the floor and in riverbanks. Flees lived on the rats and were able to go from thing to thing, transporting the disease quickly.
  
  
  Surgery to treat the ill at the time was brutal. Surgery was done without the use of anesthetics because they hadn’t been invented yet and things such as hot iron and a bow saw were used as tools to create incisions in the body. Furthermore, treatment was based on superstition, Aristotle, astrology and what type of surgery you could have done to you depended on your star sign.
  
  
  Some Treatments:
  
  
  Bleeding out
  
  
  Leeches
  
  
  Blood letting
  
  
  Often blood was removed from the body because it was believed that you could have bad or evil blood. By getting rid of blood, you got rid of the evil spirit and got better. However, a lot of the time, the patients would die from blood loss.
  
  
  Some Remedies:
  
  
  The Bubonic Plague - Most commonly the buboes were cut open so that a mixture of warm butter, onion and herb could be spread over it.
  
  
  Head Pain - Smell sweet smelling herbs such as lavender
  
  
  Heal Wounds - Vinegar was thought to kill disease and so was put on wounds
  
  
  The Professionals:
  
  
  The Rich received:
  
  
  Elizabethan Physician - These were the best medically trained individuals. However they charged around 10 gold shillings and were only used by the rich. This was similar for Elizabethan Surgeons and Barbers.
  
  
  Elizabethan Surgeons
  
  
  Barbers - Were only allowed to pull out teeth and let blood
  
  
  The Poor received:
  
  
  The Church - The poor were left to turn to the church for comfort because they couldn’t afford any treatment which probably worked in their favour
  
  
  The “Wise Woman”
  
  
  The Housewife - Produced homemade remedies and potions
  
  
  Andreas Vesalius was a professor of anatomy at the age of 23. He wrote a book called ‘De Humani Corporis Fabrica’ which is considered as one of the most important books in the history of science. He was later known as “Thee Father of Anatomy”.
  
  
  Ambroise Pare was a French man. When he was growing up he had an apprenticeship as a Barber. Usually a treatment was using hot oil on wounds however when Pare ran out of oil he used egg yolk, rose oil and turpentine as a substitute and discovered that it made the wounds heal better the next day. Because of this he stopped following old medicine methods and began creating his own. He put all his finding into a book called “Les Oeuvres” and was later known as “The Father of Surgery”.
  
  
  
  Theatre:
  
  
  English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, or (commonly) as Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1562 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. (Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Renaissance_theatre)
  
  
  The theatre was an expanding industry and became as popular as the cinema in the early 20th century.
  
  
  (Image taken from https://www.slideshare.net/rhea1111/elizabethan-theatre-36454489)