Medieval Theatre

The “dark ages”

• The Middle Ages were the period between
500a.d.-1000a.d.
• The fall of the Roman Empire marked the
beginning of this era
• Cities were abandoned and life became more
agriculturally focused
• The Roman Catholic Church controlled religion,
education, and politics
Rebirth of Theatre in the Middle Ages
• The church shut down all theatrical activities for
200-300 years, but jugglers, minstrels, and
mimes still traveled from town to town.
• Theatre was (ironically) reborn in the church in
the form of liturgical dramas
• In a liturgical drama, priests or members of
the choir would enact small segments of the
bible to eventually become short drama
performances
• In the beginning, the liturgical dramas were
performed in Latin
Rebirth of Theatre
• Later on, the liturgical dramas expanded
into longer plays based on biblical stories and
were performed in town squares, not in churches
• These later performances were called
vernacular drama because the were
performed in the everyday speech of the people
Medieval Drama
3 types of religious plays were popular in the
Medieval Period
• Mystery (cycle) Plays: dramatized biblical
events from Adam and Eve in the Old Testament
through the stories of Christ in the New
Testament
• Miracle (cycle) Plays: dramatized the lives
of Saints
• Morality Plays: used religious characters and
themes to teach a moral lesson
The Plays
• Virtually all of the plays were short; equivalent to one act
plays today

• Mystery and Miracle plays were often strung together to

form a series known as a cycle

• Often times, the story was taken out of the Biblical era
and placed in present day. Also, the character were given
conventional new names.

• The plays mixed comedy and drama

Medieval Theatre Production
• The plays took place across Europe including
Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and
England
• Large stages were set up in the town square.
These set ups were called mansions
• Another convention was the use of pageant
wagons which were rolling wagons that
contained scenery and costuming including a
backstage area and stage space.
Medieval Theatre Production
• The stage accommodated any change in scenery
by standing as a universal set or unidentified
space.
• This freedom of movement based on
imagination was later developed and perfected
by Renaissance Theatre in Spain and England
The Performers
• The performers were usually local trade workers
called Craft guilds.
• These lay people (silversmiths, leather workers,
carpenters, etc) rehearsed extensively and
provided their own costumes & props
• The productions could be quite lengthy, some
lasted as long as 25 days.
The decline of the Middle Ages
• Decline of religious theatre occurred due to the
weakening of the church as a source of political
power
• The Protestant Reformation was largely
responsible for the decline of religious material
and for the movement toward secular, or non-
religious, theatre
• The Renaissance is born!