Final answer:
Both private and public theatres during the Elizabethan era relied on daylight as their light source, with public theatres featuring open courtyards for lighting, and private theatres having windows and openings to allow natural light.
Step-by-step explanation:
In what way were private theatres and public theatres similar during the Elizabethan era? The correct answer to this is that both public and private theatres used daylight as their light source. Unlike modern theatres, which use artificial lighting, Elizabethan theatres were designed to take advantage of natural light. This was particularly evident in the design of public theatres like Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which featured an open courtyard where the audience stood and a thrust stage with a roof only covering the stage area, allowing for daylight to illuminate the performances.
Private theatres, often located in indoor spaces, still relied on natural light from windows and openings, as they did not have the technologies for artificial lighting that we have today. Both types of venues hosted plays that were important to the cultural and social fabric of the time, with public theatres being more accessible to the general population and private theatres catering to a more selective audience with higher-priced tickets.