Why is the waiting room at a radio or television studio usually referred to as the green room?
This would appear to be a transference of usage from theatrical tradition. The green room is a designated area or room backstage in a theatre where performers enjoy moments of rest or refreshment between appearances on stage; the same term can be used for the hospitality room in a television studio. The etymology is doubtful, and largely anecdotal. The OED suggests that the rest area was “probably . . . originally painted green”. There are fanciful theories too involving the early form of theatre lighting with its green hue — the limelight. The explanation given to me three decades ago (when I was with D’Oyly Carte) was that touring players would traditionally perform on the village green, setting up a simple platform for the stage. Actors would either be “treading the boards”, that is, be on stage — or be relaxing off stage, on the green. Paul Seeley, Heaton, Bradford The origin of “the green room” as a waiting area goes back far farther than radio and television. In medieval times st
