WESTERN &

ASIAN DRAMA

Western Drama
Classical Greek Drama (5th Century BC)
- Western drama originates in classical Greece
- First held on festivities celebrating god Dionysus
- Produces 3 genres of drama : Tragedy, Comedy and Satyr Play
- Top famous playwrights during the period
- Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes

- Examples of plays
- Aeschylus The Persians (old surviving drama)
- Aeschylus Agamemnon
- Sophocles Theban plays

Classical Roman Drama (240 BC)

More varied, extensive and sophisticated than that
of any culture before it
Specializes comedy and tragedy drama
Top playwrights during the period
Tittus Maccius Plautus and Plubius Terentius Afer Comedy
Quintus Ennius,Marcus PacuviusandLucius Accius
Tragedy

No early Roman tragedy survives

Best known farces
Plautus Menaechmi and Truculentus

Medieval Age (476 AD 1500)

Drama emerged from religious enactments
Mystery playswere presented on the porch of the
cathedrals or by strolling players onfeast days

Elizabethan & Jacobean (16th & 17th

centuries)
Plays celebrated the lives of past kings
Authors of this period drew some of their storylines
fromGreek mythologyandRoman mythologyor from the
plays of eminent Roman playwrights such
asPlautusandTerence
Top playwrights during the period
Christopher Marlowe,Thomas Middleton andBen Jonson

Modern & Postmodern

(19th & 20th Century)
Most modern and postmodern productions are
centred on highlighting the fallibility of definite truth,
instead encouraging the audience to reach their own
individual understanding. Essentially, thus, modern
and postmodern theatre raises questions rather than
attempting to supply answers

Asian Drama
Indian Drama (140 BC)
The oldest form of Indian drama is Sanskrit
Drama that is said to have its framework
directly given by Lord Shiva who used these
techniques to pray to Lord Vishnu
Modern drama insinuates exploration, criticism
of contemporary relevance and questioning of
nationalism, identity, spiritualism and material
greed

Chinese Drama (700 BC)

Chinese drama has a long and complex history
Today it is often calledChinese operaalthough
this normally refers specifically to the popular
form known asBeijing opera

Japan Drama (14th century)

Drama in Japan started as a combination of music,
drama and dance
One famous drama is the Noh drama, composed
generally by males
Other dramas are Kyogen & Kabuki (17 th Century)