courtyard theatre

courtyard theatre, any temporary or permanent theatre structure established in an inn’s courtyard in England or a residential courtyard in Spain. Under Elizabeth I, many plays were performed in the courtyards of London inns, with the first-recorded innyard performance in 1557. By 1576 there were five courtyard theatres in London, but they declined thereafter, since by then London had two permanent theatres. The structure of the Elizabethan playhouse was similar to that of the earlier...