History of Theater

from
Ancient Greece
to Present

Group 1
ANCIENT GREECE
THEATRE (500 BCE – 500 CE)
• ·Ancient Greece theatre typically has its
theme stories from Greek mythology
specifically roots in religious
play/festivals honouring the Dionysus, the
God of wine, pleasure, and fertility.
• ·Performances took place in outdoor
theatres, such as the Theatre of Dionysus
in Athens. These theatres were large,
open-air structures with excellent
acoustics to accommodate large audiences.
2 MAIN TYPES
OF PLAY DURING
ANCIENT GREECE
TRAGEDY COMEDY
• Focused on serious themes • ·Has much lighter tone and

and often ended in the focused on mocking

p r o t a g o n i s t ’s d o w n f a l l . societal issues
 ANCIENT GREECE
THEATRE (500 BCE – 500 CE)
• Actors wore masks to portray different characters.
• Performances were part of religious festivals and were seen as
both entertainment and a form of civic education, addressing
important moral and philosophical questions.
• The Three prominent playwrights of ancient Greece are known
today: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Each contributed
significantly to the development of Greek drama, particularly
tragedy and later, comedy.
• The most famous competition for the performance of tragedy was
as part of the spring festival of DionysUs Eleuthereus or the City
Dionysia in Athens. The archon, a high-ranking official of the city,
decided which plays would be performed in competition.
MEDIEVAL THEATER
(500 - 1500 CE)
• During the Middle Ages, theater was primarily
religious in nature, with performances held in
churches and focusing on religious themes.
Examples include mystery plays, miracle plays,
and morality plays.
RENAISSANCE THEATER
(14TH – 17TH CENTURY)
• Also known as early modern English theatre or Elizabeth
theatre •Characterized by expanding and flourishing
theatres as theatre-going became one of England’s most
common pastimes.
• This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare,
Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Johnson •The first
permanent English theatre, the ‘Red Lion’ opened in 1567
but it was a short-lived failure.
• The first successful Renaissance theatre, named ‘The
Theatre’, was opened in 1576.
• Many theatres had to be constructed outside London
CHARACTERISTICS
OF RENAISSANCE
THEATRE
PERFORMANCES
 COSTUME
• Costumes were often bright in
color, visually entrancing, and
expensive.
• Reused frequently
• More traditionally
• Designate a character’s class.
PLAYWRIGHTS
• Playwrights were normally paid in
increments during the writing process,
and if their play was accepted, they
would also receive the proceeds from
one day’s performance.
• No ownership of the play they wrote.
• The majority of plays were
collaboration, and the solo artists who
generally eschewed collaborative
efforts, like Jonson and Shakespeare,
were the exceptions to the rule.
• Plays were never published and only
existed as playwrights
 WIDE AUDIENCE
DEMOGRAPHIC
• Renaissance theatre was accessible
to people of all classes.
GENERIC
VARIETY
• Renaissance plays ranged from
comedies to tragedies to history
plays.
• History play, which depicted
English or European history.
• Example: George Peele’s Famous
Chronicle of King Edward the First
•
• Tragedy was an amazingly popular
genre.
• Example: Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus
and The Jew of Malta
• Comedies were common
• Example: Thomas Dekker’s The
Shoemaker’s Holiday
 ELIZABETH THEATER
(16TH CENTURY)
• Elizabethan Theatre, also known as English Renaissance
theatre, was a style of performance plays that emerged
during Elizabeth I's reign and continued under her
successors.
• It featured professional actors performing non-religious,
blank verse plays.
• The first permanent theatre in London was established in
1576, leading to a booming industry of entertainment-
focused drama.
• The most celebrated playwright during this time was William
Shakespeare, whose works were performed at the Globe
Theatre in London, covering various themes.
ELIZABETH I AND THE
ARTS: A HISTORICAL
OVERVIEW
• Elizabeth I, the Queen of England, was a significant contributor to
English and world culture through her patronage of the arts.
• Theatre was a medium used to project her own glory and that of her
family, the Tudors.
• The Elizabethan period saw public performers become professional
entertainers, with the first professional troupes of actors sponsored by the
queen and nobles.
• Elizabeth banned performances of unlicensed plays in 1559 and religious
play cycles in the 1570s.
• Royal control of theatre continued in 1572 with only nobles allowed to
sponsor professional acting troupes.
• • The shift from religious themes led to a broader range of themes,
including historical themes and a Humanist interest in Greek and Roman
antiquity.
• • Royal patronage of theatre continued during the reign of James I of
England, who funded three professional actor companies.
PROFESSIONAL
ACTORS AND
T H E AT R E S
• Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, was the first licensed troupe
of actors.
• The first purpose-built theatres arrived in 1576, founded by James
Burbage, known as the Theatre.
• The Theatre was a wooden enclosed building with no roof in the
centre, welcoming audiences of both courtiers and commoners.
• Other theatres were built, including the Curtain, Blackfriars
Theatre, the Rose, and the Swan.
• Other towns followed suit, including Bath, Bristol, Norwich, and
York.
• Theatres offered a variety of plays daily, with popular plays
performed a handful of times each year.
• The Globe Theatre, relocated to the south bank of the River
Thames in 1599, became world-famous.
• The Globe Theatre was owned by Burbage's sons
and members of Chamberlains' Men, with William
Shakespeare as an investor.
• The Globe Theatre was made of wood, circular in
form, and opened for business in 1599.
• The theatre had a capacity of around 2,000 and
featured a rectangular stage with a thatch roof.
• The audience could be surprised by technical tricks
such as lowering actors on wires or having them
appear or disappear through a trapdoor in the stage
floor.
WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE
• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, Shakespeare gained
fame in theatre in 1592.
• Joined Chamberlain's Men and became a key member of the
Globe Theatre's permanent staff.
• Produced an average of two plays per year, writing 37 in
total.
• His works are divided into comedies, romances, histories,
and tragedies.
• His works combine wordplay, contemporary politics, love
stories, revenge, historical events, and jingoism.
• His first play is often cited as Henry VI Part I, written
around 1589.
• His most popular plays include A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Henry V, Hamlet, and Macbeth.
P L AY W R I G H T S
AND ACTORS
• Under the Stuart kings, print scripts of plays became popular
and profitable.
• Around 800 play scripts survive from the 16th and 17th
century.
• Christopher Marlowe, the most celebrated Elizabethan
playwright, wrote Tamburlaine the Great in 1587.
• Marlowe's death was attributed to a brawl in a tavern, and
his death is speculated to be an assassination.
• Ben Jonson, a notable playwright, wrote Isle of Dogs (1597)
and wrote several hit plays, many of which were performed
at the Globe Theatre.
• Actor Richard Tarlton, a comic actor, co-founded the
Queen's Men Company and wrote many successful plays,
including Seven Deadly Sins (1585).
CRITIQUES AND
CRITICISMS
• Puritans, prominent in Elizabethan society, criticized
frivolous entertainments like plays as unsuitable for
commoners and potentially corrupting.
• Local residents and business owners feared noise and
low class associations, leading to petitions to restrict
theatre performances.
• Early theatres were built in city suburbs, away from
the direct jurisdiction of mayors.
P U B L I C H E A LT H
CHALLENGES
• The Black Death plague in 1592 led to theatre
closures for a year.
• Theatres, being wooden structures, were
susceptible to devastating fires.
• The Globe Theatre was rebuilt in 1614
after a cannon shot set fire to the thatch
roof.
L I M I TAT I O N S A N D
LEGACY
• Elizabethan theatre established itself as a
significant part of England's popular and literary
culture.
• • William Shakespeare's plays were collected in the
First Folio in 1623, with more editions printed
throughout the 17th century.
• • Shakespeare's works continue to interest modern
filmmakers and are considered "not of an age, but
for all time."
 MODERN THEATRE
(19TH - 21ST CENTURY)
• Modern theatre includes performances of plays and musical theatre. The
art forms of ballet and opera are also theatre and use many conventions
such as acting, costumes and staging. They were influential in the
development of musical theatre. Modern Theatre is a rhythmic dance
style which originated in America before travelling to the rest of the
world. It incorporates the style and technique of modern, contemporary,
jazz, lyrical and musical theatre under one umbrella. Modern is free
form and a break-free from the strict classical ballet technique, with
movements that origin from the core of the body, uses elements like
contract and release, floor work, fall and recovery such as body drop,
deep controlled movements, and improvisation.
 REALISM AND EXPRESSIONISM
NATURALISM (LATE (EARLY 20TH
19TH CENTURY) CENTURY)
• Influenced by the rise of psychology • Reacting against naturalism,

and social sciences, playwrights like expressionist playwrights like Georg

Henrik Ibsen and Anton Chekhov Kaiser and Ernst Toller aimed to

introduced realistic portrayals of depict subjective experience and

everyday life, focusing on inner turmoil through distorted

psychological depth and social settings and heightened emotions.

issues.
 THEATRE OF THE POSTMODERNISM
ABSURD (MID-20TH (LATE 20TH CENTURY)
CENTURY)
• Playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, • Postmodern playwrights like Tom

Eugène Ionesco, and Harold Pinter Stoppard and Tony Kushner

presented the human condition as experimented with narrative

irrational, fragmented, and structure, intertextuality, and meta-

meaningless, often featuring theatrical elements, challenging

nonsensical dialogue and surreal traditional notions of truth and

scenarios. representation.
 POLITICAL AND MULTICULTURAL AND
SOCIAL THEATER GLOBAL INFLUENCES
• Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, • With increased globalization, theater
theater has been a platform for addressing has become more diverse and
pressing political and social issues, inclusive, incorporating voices from
including civil rights, feminism, various cultures and backgrounds.
LGBTQ+ rights, and globalization. Playwrights like Wole Soyinka,
Playwrights like Lorraine Hansberry, Athol Fugard, and Suzan-Lori Parks
August Wilson, and Caryl Churchill have have enriched the theatrical
contributed significantly to this genre. landscape with their diverse
perspectives.
 TECHNOLOGICAL SITE-SPECIFIC AND
ADVANCEMENTS IMMERSIVE THEATER
• In the 21st century, technology has • There's been a growing trend
played a significant role in theater towards site-specific and
production, with innovations such as immersive theater experiences,
digital projection, interactive media, blurring the boundaries between
and virtual reality enhancing the audience and performer and
theatrical experience and expanding transforming non-traditional

artistic possibilities. spaces into performance venues.

 DIGITAL THEATER CONTINUED
EVOLUTION
• With the advent of online streaming • Theater continues to evolve in
platforms and digital distribution, response to societal changes,
theater has become more accessible technological advancements, and
to global audiences. Productions are artistic experimentation. New
now being livestreamed or recorded forms, styles, and themes continue
for on-demand viewing, reaching to emerge, ensuring that theater

viewers who may not have access to remains a vibrant and relevant art

traditional theater spaces. form in the 21st century.

 CONTEMPORARY THEATER
(21ST CENTURY)
• A diverse and dynamic period in theater, with a wide
range of style and genres, from experimental.
• The world of theatre has undergone significant
changes in the 21st century, as technology,
globalization, and shifting cultural landscapes have
influenced both the creation and consumption of
theatrical performances.
• Examples include: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s
“Hamilton,” Caryl Churchill’s “Top girls,” and
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “An Octoroon.”
HAMILTON
• An American M usical is a sung-
and-rappe d-through
biographica l music al with
music, lyric s, a nd a book by
Lin-M anue l Miranda as well as
choreogra phy by Andy
Blankenbue hler.
 TOP GIRLS
• was written in the background of
Margaret Tha tc her ’s elec tion as
Britain’s first fema le prime ministe r
and deals with conc erns such a s
Thatche r ’s right-wing politics, a
shift in 1980s B ritain from a
socialist mindse t to a more
capitalist one , and the fe minine
politics of the 1980s.
 OCTOROON
• is a play written by B randen
Jacobs-Je nkins. It is a n ada ptation
of Dion B oucica ult’s The Octoroon,
which pre miered in 1859.

In a 2018 poll by critic s from The New

York Time s, the work was ra nked the
second-greate st American pla y of the
past 25 ye ars.
 T E N 2 1 S T-
C E N T U RY
T H E AT E R FA C T S
• The rise of immersive theatre experiences.
• Diversity and inclusivity in casting
• The West End and Broadway remain the
epicenters of theatre.
• Broadway musical “Hamilton” became a
cultural phenomenon.
• “The Lion King” is the highest-grossing
Broadway production of all time.
• The Lion King -Is a 1994 American animated
musical coming-of-age drama film produced
by Walt Disney Feature Animation and
released by Walt Disney Pictures.
 • “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” became
a record-breaking hit.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play
written by Jack Thorne from an original story
written by J. K. Rowling, Thorne and John
Tiffany. The story is set nineteen years after the
events of the 2007 novel Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows by Rowling.
• “Hamilton” sparked a renewed interest in
historical-themed musicals.
• The revival of classic plays and musicals
• Theatre and social activism.
• The West End and Broadway remain the
epicenters of theatre.
 THANK YOU
FOR LISTENING
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