The Original Shakespearean Performance

The original performances of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet can be traced all the way back to 1597 when the first quarto had been published. In that time period, women were not able to participate in theatre so in their place, young boys who's voice had not broken yet would play any female roles. Romeo and Juliet was performed in The Globe Theatre, very likely by Lord Chamberlain's Men.

Going to watch theatre back in Shakespeare's time was an activity for all people in London, regardless of class - rich or poor would save money to go see the theatre. 200,000 lived in London during that period and around 20,000 (10%) would go to the theatre. Tickets/attendance price would range from 1 penny (1b) to 4 pennies (4b). 1 penny would allow you to watch the performance just below the stage but standing (Groundlings); the more money you paid from there would allow you to sit higher in a box of your own. Paying the maximum fees were always the rich - they would sit behind the stage where they could always be seen by everyone watching; the rich wanted to be seen by the lower classes more than wanting to view the play. Despite the lack of roof in The Globe (used for open elements and to allow for voice talent to be shown), people attended regardless of the weather conditions. 

The Globe

Along with all of Shakespeare's other plays, Romeo and Juliet was performed in The Globe Theatre in London where 3,000 people could be seated/viewing due to the lack of health and safety at the time (this capacity is now halved). Coming from the term audience, to audio, people came more to listen than to view the plays; many people were illiterate during Shakespeare's time so they would spend more time focusing on the spoken word due to its highly detailed scripts (the highly detailed scripts help create an atmosphere to the play due to the lack of set). 

Where you sat in The Globe reflected your social status, paying more equals higher seating. The richest people would sit behind the stage or 'with the gods'. This seating was called 'The Gods' due to the astrological paintings around the seating. The most important thing to the wealthy was being seen by the people who are of lower social status.

The Play

The opening of Romeo and Juliet begins with a summary of the story, telling people what to expect in the coming hours and to see how the "ancient grudge break to new mutiny". The play then shifts to an intense on-stage fight between the Capulet and Montague families. This fight is used as a disposable scene to capture the audience's attention from the start until the end of the play. All actors wore tight costumes mostly comprising of tights, corsets, etc. The actors would stand mostly directly towards the audience to project their dialogue to them as they are telling the story. The entire play is written in iambic pentameter and is only broken when Romeo and Juliet first meet, showing the strength and power of their love.