This article was written by Elise Warner
A crowd of twentieth century "groundlings" stands in the open yard of the new Globe Theatre in Bankside, London. We've paid five pounds approximately $8.50 to see a performance of The Life of Henry the Fifth (Henry V.) In the early 1600s, at the first Globe Theatre Shakespeare's "Wooden O," groundlings (commoners) paid one English penny. Two pennies entitled a patron to a seat on a bench in the gallery; protected from sun and rain by a thatched roof made of water reed. Three pennies bought a cushioned seat close to the stage where one could see and be seen and the most prestigious seats of all at six pennies were the Lord's rooms behind and above the stage.
The groundlings, also known as "stinkards" - they rarely washed themselves or their clothes - stood in a yard covered with a mixture of hazelnut shells, cinders, ash, sand and silt. Here they ate and drank, fought, cheered, hissed and sometimes critiqued an offending actor by throwing an orange. The orange was and is a useful piece of fruit; its scent protects the nose from stench and it can be eaten when a groundling feels a pang of hunger. Today, most of us shower, deodorize, sip from bottles of spring water and enjoy an ice cream, but cheers for the British and hisses for the French are still heard during performances of Shakespeare's Henry the Fifth. We forget the help given to Americans by the French during our revolution and enthusiastically join the English; we're swept away by loyalty to King Harry, played by Mark Rylance, who doubles as the artistic director of the new Globe.
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