Who played female roles in Shakespeares plays and why?

In Shakespeare’s day, female parts were played by male actors, while more recently, actresses have taken on some of his most famous male roles such as Hamlet and Julius Caesar. Clare McManus explores gender in the history of Shakespeare performance.Click to see full answer. Also asked, why did males play female roles?Female actors weren’t allowed on the stage in the Elizabethan era (during which Shakespeare wrote his plays). Since the female actors were prohibited from performing, young boys played their roles. The young boys were apt because of their voice that somewhat resembld female voice.Likewise, who played female roles in Elizabethan Theatre? During the Elizabethan era only men were allowed to act in the theatre until 1660 – it was judged to be unseemly for a woman to undertake such a role. Young boys were therefore hired to act in the female roles. Elizabethan Women’s clothing was extremely elaborate and was constructed with many layers of clothing. Considering this, who was the first woman to perform in a Shakespeare play? At the age of 15, Margaret made theatre history by becoming the first woman to perform on an English stage. Her first performance was on 8 December 1660, when she played the role of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s play Othello, in a production by Thomas Killigrew’s new King’s Company at their Vere Street theatre.Why were pre pubescent boys used to play female roles?In playing companies of adult actors, boys were initially given the female parts, but women were permitted to act on the stage from December 1661. A law against women on stage was implemented in England until that time. Pre-pubescent boys were used for their unbroken voices, an accepted practice.

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