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The design of the original Theatre responded to a mix of traditions. Its name, which up to then had been used for atlases (such as Mercator’s) rather than for playhouses, drew attention to the Roman theatre tradition. Its circular shape, though, reflected not the D-shape of a Roman amphitheatre but the gatherings of crowds in a circle around the actors in town marketplaces, where all the players of 1576 got their training. The concept of building a scaffold with three levels of galleries surrounding a circular yard mimicked the arrangement for audiences of existing bearbaiting and bullbaiting houses. The stage, ...(100 of 1946 words)