As the Renaissance began to replace many of the old medieval institutions, entertainment began to move from folk art to paid entertainment. Here we see some of the activities people paid to watch. We see the rather specialized bear-baiting and bull-baiting, using specially bred dogs in blood sport. Bears, being rare and valuable, were generally protected; dogs were expendable. Sometimes homeless boys were used in place of dogs. Elsewhere we see a morris-dance, an arcane ritual still done in England today where a group of men drink large quantities of alcohol and attempt to perform intricate dance steps

Finally in the foreground is a primitive drama of unknown origin. Notice that a portable stage has appeared to put the actors above the audience and allow a better view. To one side, perhaps a little obscured, a dog is attached to the doorjamb, for no apparent reason. On the whole this appears pretty flimsy stuff. In effect this was the competitive situation at the beginning of English theater. Who would win those entertainment pence and shillings?

Actors first performed without any fixed facility. The first acting companies traveled from town to town, bringing all their equipment with them, staying briefly and moving on, as we see in this illustration. Shakespeare's father, as mayor of Stratford, may have arranged for just such a group to entertain the town. Even when the actors acquired permanent buildings they still might have to travel if the economics of the theater required it. We see a similar group of actors on tour in Shakespeare's Hamlet, driven from their regular theater because of competition in the city.