Plays were performed in the courtyards of inns, college halls, inns and private houses until 1576. Then the actor-manager James Burbage built the Theatre in Shoreditch with his brother-in-law John Brayne. This was the first purpose-built playhouse in London. William Shakespeare joined the resident troupe at the Theatre in the 1580s. Elizabethan theatres could attract up to 3000 people and were used… More Elizabethan Theatre in Southwark