Differences in lighting between JA's time and ours is something I never thought much about until I saw Emma3, but it could be quite different. I was struck by the line on p.231 that "London auditoria were as brilliantly lit as the stage itself", so there was no darkening the auditorium so that people would focus on the stage (not that it would have been possible, probably). It gives new meaning to the idea that people went to the theatre to see and be seen, not so much to watch the play!