![]() Furthermore, limelight was invented in 1820 and the term "green room" was used many years prior to that. It is sometimes said that the term 'green room' was a response to limelight, though the name is merely a coincidence – "limelight" refers to calcium oxide, not to the fruit or colour. Technical staff at some West End theatres (such as the London Coliseum) still refer to the stage as 'the green'. The green room could thus be considered the transition room on the way to the green/stage. Even in proscenium arch theatres there was a tradition that a green stage cloth should be used for a tragedy. ![]() This central space, often grass-covered, was used by the actors, while the surrounding space and circular banks were occupied by the spectators Southern states that 'the green' has been a traditional actors' term for the stage ever since. Richard Southern, in his studies of medieval theatre in the round, states that in this period the acting area was referred to as 'the green'. It has also been theorised that such waiting rooms were originally painted green to "relieve the eyes from the glare of the stage." On the other hand, early stage lighting was by candlelight and later by gaslight, so the "glare" might well be apocryphal, a modern reference to bright electric stage lighting. A later renovation of London's Cockpit-in-Court theatre in 1662 included a green baize dressing room, which has also been suggested as the origin of the term. ![]() ![]() One of the oldest stories is that London's Blackfriars Theatre (1599) included a room behind the scenes, where the actors waited to go on stage, which happened to be painted green, and was called "the green room". The definitive origin of the term 'green room' is lost to history, which has led to many theories and claims. The green room at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh ![]()
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