QUESTION: What was London like in Elizabethan times and who were the people attending the theatre?

London wasn’t just big; it was also growing fast, mostly due to migrants from the countryside and from Europe. Between 1550 and 1600 it is estimated the city grew from around 50,000 residents to over 200,000. London Bridge was the only bridge in London. It joined the City of London, on the north bank of the Thames, with Southwark on the south bank, where the Globe Theatre was
Elizabethan Audience Capacity - the theatres could hold 1500 people and this number expanded to 3000 with the people who crowded outside the theatres. 

-Queen Elizabeth I loved watching plays but theses were generally performed in indoor playhouses for her pleasure. She would not have attended the plays performed at the amphitheatres
-Nobles would have paid for the better seats in the Lord's rooms paying 5d for the privilege 
-The Commoners called the Groundlings or Stinkards would have stood in the theatre pit and paid 1p entrance fee. They put 1 penny in a box at the theatre entrance - hence the term 'Box Office'
Colour coding was used to advertise the type of play to be performed - a black flag meant a tragedy , white a comedy and red a history.