In atheatre, abox,loge,[1] oropera box is a small, separated seating area in theauditorium or audience for a limited number of people for private viewing of a performance or event.
Boxes are typically placed immediately to the front, side and above the level of the stage. They are separate rooms with an open viewing area which typically seat five people or fewer.[2] Usually all the seats in a box are taken by members of a single group of people. A state box or royal box is sometimes provided for dignitaries.
In theatres without box seating the loge can refer to a separate section at the front of the balcony.
Sports venues such asstadiums andracetracks also have royal boxes or enclosures, for example at theAll England Club andAscot Racecourse, where access is limited toroyal families or other distinguished personalities. In other countries, sports venues haveluxury boxes also known as skyboxes, where access is open to anyone who can afford tickets, sometimes bought by companies.
Thomas Dekker, in hisThe Gull's Horn Book of 1609, is the first on record to usebox in the theatrical sense. He described boxes as: crammed spaces "in the suburbs of the stage" from which to watch a performance.[3] Opera boxes were a status of wealth and high social standing in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Opera became a place not only for enjoying art and music but also for displaying wealth and social status. The epitome of extravagance could be viewed in the art, fashions and behaviors at the Opera.[4]
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