Corrales were theatres created from the spaces in courtyards. The courtyard was lined by several-floored, covered galleries designated for a concrete type of society. The fourth side was occupied by a covered stage. The courtyards were in the shape of a rectangle or square with their centre left without a roof, the so-called patio. The majority of the audience would stand there. Over the course of time rows for seating came about under the roof, along the patio and in front of the stage.

"In Spain a vigorous native school of playwrights was growing up, but for some time there was no architectural form to match it. Plays were acted on temporary stages or in the courtyards of palaces, sometimes sheltered from the sun by sailcloth like a Roman theatre. These dignified patios, sur­rounded on four sides by loggias and windows, were to have some remote influence on Spanish theatre design of later centuries."

In: TIDWORTH, Simon. Theatres; an illustrated history. London: Pall Mall Press, 1973, 224 p. ISBN 02-690-2833-1. Available from: http://amzn.com/0269028331. p. 58

Author: Simon Tidworth