Literal Translation
Coutside, gardenside
Actual Meaning
Stage left, stage right
Etymology
The courtyard side is the right side of the stage, as seen from the auditorium, as opposed to the garden side, on the left. These terms originate from a custom adopted by the Comédie-Française, founded by Louis XIV, when it moved into the ‘machine room’ at the Tuileries in Paris from 1770 to 1782. This room overlooked the courtyard of the building on one side and the Tuileries garden on the other. Until then, the courtyard was referred to as the ‘queen’s side’ and the garden as the ‘king’s side’, as their boxes faced each other at either end of the stage. Many nautical terms were adapted to the theatre, as the first stagehands were former sailors. These names given to the sides originated from the terms port and starboard on a ship.