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