how was violence on stage acted out in Shakespeare's time?

Answer 1

Actually, very much like today. Blood would be stored in little skin bags under the clothes and burst at the right moment, just like we do today. Swords would be blunted but it took a lot of training to know how to look like violence was going on without actually hurting each other. Everything was carefully choreographed.

Big battle scenes would often be staged with a lot of individual fights; Shakespeare would call it "alarums and excursions".

Answer 2

Swordplay was the dominate "violence" used on stage. It was considered almost essential for most romances, histories, and tragedies. Comic clownlike fights were common in comedies. Wrestling and other stage fights were used when appropriate.

Stylized blood from red fabric was used since the costumes were the most expensive and prized possessions of an acting troupe and were hard to clean. Fake liquid blood was rarely used.

Answer 3

lol really cheesy like using red hankerchiefs to represent blood. Sometimes it was all done off stage too. You would just hear stuff and then someone would tell the audiance what happened. (a good use for the chorus.)

Answer 4

violently.