Burbage retained the circular amphitheatrical form; being a joiner as
well as an actor and manager, he was no doubt his own architect in his
new theatrical enterprise.
But instead of the roofless, open-air auditorium, he constructed a
covered circular wooden building with stories or galleries, which was
made so as to contain a number of boxes for the distinguished and
well-paying public, and which entirely enclosed the open, uncovered
arena, which, as it recalled the inn-yards, was called the "yard," or
afterward, perhaps on account of the high pitlike construction
surrounding it, the "pit," whence the poorest and humblest spectators
enjoyed the performances.
Finally, he built a covered "tire-house"--or "tiring-house," as it was
called in those times--for the actors, a place in which also all the
requisites and the so-called "properties" were kept. This tiring-house
stood within the circle, and its roof towered up above the auditorium.
From the tiring-house the stage--a simple wooden platform resting on
rams--was pushed forward, and it might be removed when the arena was to
be used for fights between animals, etc., instead of dramatic
performances.
By this reform of the building--a reform which became epoch-making to
the whole Shakespearean period--James Burbage obtained a threefold
advantage: more comfortable seats for the more distinguished portion of
the audience, where they were sheltered from wind and weather; the use
of the house both for plays and the baiting of animals; and the power to
oblige the public to pay their admission at certain doors of his
building, which spared him the unpleasant and unsafe collection of money
from spectators, who might not always be very willing to pay.
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