What Was It Like To Go To A Play During Shakespeare's Time?

Smelly! Nobody washed!. Water was unused, and in most cases for animals. Loud! Apart from actors bellowing their lines, in order to reach the farthest corners of the vast theatres, everybody else had a say in the matter! It is well known for instance that the most famous of all Shakespeare's clowns, Richard Tarlton, would break from the action, stroll to the front of the stage, and engage in some pretty racy arguments with the hecklers who lined the front pit.  Hot! Most of the indoor theatres, such as the Blackfriars, were small, intimate affairs, so much so, that after an hour of a very compelling and confidential Cymbeline, theatregoers needed to rush to a window just to cool down! Dangerous!  Two of Shakespeare's fellow playwrights were known murderers! Ben Johnson,(branded on the thumb with a "T" meaning murder again and you hang at Tyburn Tree) and Christopher Marlowe, soon to be murdered himself! The carrying of weapons, although officially frowned upon, was not considered a punishable offence, so, young bloods would fight at the slightest pretext.( opening scenes of Romeo and Juliet), Apocrypha surrounding Shakespeare suggests he got his first "break", through such an action.