Theatre

Thesis Comparison - Renaissance England William Shakespeare  the Lord Chamberlains Men and Renaissance France Moliere  La troupe de Monsieur
During the Renaissance period in England, dramatic plays and performances by William Shakespeare and his band of players (The Lord Chamberlains Men) were acted in full costume for the court of Queen Elizabeth 1. Shakespeares popularity amongst the court and the public was more appealing to a wider society than French playwright and actor Molieres troupe of performers at the courts of the Sun King Louis XIV.
2.     Renaissance - The Age of Idealism
The Renaissance period 1400-1700 and was also known as the Age of Idealism whereby artists, writers, musicians, and actors could revel in a new freedom to re-engage with culture in a confronting and spectacular manner.
This era was seen as a return to the classical culture of the Greeks and Romans in many ways especially in art and drama, considering the earliest form of theater began in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 B.C.
Athens, as the city-state was seen as a cultural icon where Greek plays based on these three genres were performed, satyr (satire), comedy and tragedy in open air theaters such as the Hellenic theater at Epidaurus.
These ancient plays of Greece and Rome impacted greatly on Western Europe and became classical statements of the early culture of a highly intellectual and creative people. It is interesting how creativity is not so different and how important the performing arts are for human entertainment or enlightenment in any era.
3.     Elizabethan theater
Medieval style
Court performances were not new to royalty as throughout the Medieval and Middle Ages, minstrels, troubadours, court jesters (jugglers) were engaged to create a jovial atmosphere at the sumptuous dinner parties or merely at the request of the current monarch.
Tudor Queen
With the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth 1 (1558-1603), and the creative rebirth of the Renaissance, the Elizabethan theater became a strong hold of the performing arts.
Queen Elizabeth 1 requested a playing troupe of actors be formed and known as Queen Elizabeths Men and would later be called the Lord Chamberlains Men.
This troupe included The Bard (William Shakespeare) well known English poet and playwright. The performers entertained at the royal court many times throughout the year with Shakespeare performing in seven plays in the winter of 1604.
In addition to pleasure and recreation, court entertainments thus provided a means to
interact with the Queen and to come to her attention.  (2)  (The Elizabethan Court)

Elizabethan stage scenery
Dr Susan Mary Steele compiled a collection of historic records for her book Plays and Masques at Court During the Reigns of Elizabeth, James and Charles in 1926. Included in these records were the Documents Relating to the Office of the Revels in the Time of Queen Elizabeth.
The majority of the records from the Elizabethan time was previously published by Professor Albert Feuillerat (1908) and shed cultural light on a dynasty of theatrical delights. Note the official name of these records from the Elizabethan era  the Office of the Revels  which literally can relate to celebration and having fun. How delightful that the Tudor Queen created such a charming office within her reign.
These records show, in the quaint spelling of the era, how much effort went into the creation of stage settings for the court plays and masques (musical entertainment). The Office of the Revels paid the performers and organised the stage scenery.
The complexity of the masques provided anthems, operas and classical music for the royal household and court. Elaborate plays required sometimes exotic scenery but this was usually stylised in wood or paynted (painted). 

A play at Hampton Court, December 25, 1574...Lodes of Tymber for the Rock ...In 1576, for The historie of the Collyer, a paynted cloth and two frames were taken to Hampton Court. Often the warrant for payment reads somewhat as follows For making theire Repaire to the Courte with their whole Companye and furniture to present a play before her Matie, without listing details of the furniture. The cariadge of the stuffe to or from the court is often recorded while the articles carried are not given in the Accounts.
Elizabethan music
 During the medieval era poetry was a form of court entertainment and this was accompanied by a fiddle or other form of music but in the Elizabethan theater era music and lyrics came together to create a backdrop for performances.
William Shakespeare, one of Queen Elizabeths favourite poet, playwright and performer created an incredible array of emotions in his plays which required the support of musical accompaniment to reflect the mood. This was accomplished by the Elizabethan theater musicians who were situated in a gallery or in the pit below the stage with their backs to the actors. Shakespeare also wrote in three genres, Comedies, Tragedies and Histories and it is amusing to think of his plays as being the earlier forms of musicals with Twelfth Night containing six songs.
The Swan Playhouse
Although Shakespeare and his troupe performed often at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1 they also performed at several playhouses in London. The Swan theater was built in 1595 near the river Thames across from the City of London and it resembled the open-air theaters of ancient Rome or Greece in the way the seats were in a circle around the central stage. 
MERGEFORMATINET      
The Swan theater (1595)    Chester mystery play (on pageant wagon)
It is pertinent to see the resemblance of the Elizabethan Swan theater to the medieval style pageant wagon which was part of the medieval play troupes performing stage. You can see how the performing arts have been influenced by previous generations even to the Roman style of open-air theater.
The Swan theater was reputed as the finest and largest of the London theaters at the time with seating for 3000 playgoers in the auditorium style seating.
4.    Renaissance France Cultural infusion
The Renaissance began around the late 1400s in France, as a product of King Charles VII invasion of Italy, where it had been flourishing since the 1400s. Famous Italian artists including Leonardo da Vinci immigrated to Paris to infuse their renaissance style of art into France.
As in the Elizabethan era, it is interesting to note that royalty played the part of becoming patron of the arts to encourage the French theater and actors. Caterina de Medici (1519-1589) from Florence married the French King Henry II (1519-1559) and her desire to bring the beauty of the renaissance to France contributed to the origins of ballet.
 Performing Arts
Unlike the English playgoers, the French were prone to engage in plays that held a political theme or stance. To say they were more intellectual than the English is not true but the English people wanted to be entertained the French wanted to be confronted, stimulated, and enriched.
During the reign of King Louis XIV, the French theater was founded in 1680 and a famous troupe of actors  the troupe of Moliere performed according to the charter granted by King Louis XIV. 
Jean Baptiste Poquelin, who was known as Moliere, was the most famous comic actor and dramatic writer of the 17th Century.  Although known for his satirical comedies, Moliere also wrote other works that included ballet scenes and incredible scenery changes. His drama group performed in the courtly salons of the Sun King Louis XIV amongst the incredible gold and crystal embellished luxury of the Palace of Versailles.
During one performance King Louis XIV appointed them as official entertainers for his court which was a prestigious and worthy accolade. Moliere would soon learn of the nuances of elite French society amongst the courtiers of King Louis XIV and he devised plays that dramatised the social norms and the consequences of rebellion against society. The performances could not be seen to contain too much realism as that would be too confronting to King Louis XIV and his upper class society.
One point that is appealing is how Moliere won the favour of King Louis XIV at his first appearance at his court. His troupes performance of Corneilles Nicomde won no applause from the courtiers and Moliere spoke to the elite audience saying how pleased he had been to perform for the greatest king in the world which naturally entranced the Sun King.

A small piece of comedy was performed by Moliere at that point who converted his audience to roaring laughter and gained the absolute approval by  King Louis XIV. Molieres description of his courtly audience allows us to imagine the delicate subtleties of appraisal and the propriety of behaviour in a court as impressive as that of the Sun King Louis XIV.
 The court of France--the most splendid in history--was present in all its strength. Here was Louis XIV, now twenty years of age, an ardent votary of pleasure, yet stately and reserved, with strength of character plainly written in his face...Anne of Austria, still regent of France, and ... Cardinal Mazarin, who for many years had guided the vessel of the State.  Molieres comments on the female courtiers really set the scene, to the rear was a host of the butterflies belonging to the court.
The performances by Moliere and La troupe de Monsieur at the Versailles court of King Louis XIV are indicative of the efforts the Sun King made to ingratiate visiting nobility and local aristocracy to impress Europe and the whole world with the splendour and brilliance of French culture.