Medieval Theatre
Time frame: 5th c- mid 16th c
Secular theatre died in Western Europe with the fall of Rome
Theatrical performances were banned by the Roman Catholic Church as barbaric and pagan
Most Roman theatre had been “spectacle” rather than literary drama
Roman Literary Drama
2nd c. bc - 4th c. ce
Origins in Greek drama and Roman festivals
Tragedy: Seneca
Comedy:Terence and Plautus
Roman Spectacle
•Gladiatorial combats
•Naval battles in a flooded Coliseum
•“Real-life” theatricals
•Decadent, violent and immoral
•All theatrical events were banned by the Church when Rome became Christianized
Byzantine Theatre
The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) with its capitol at Constantinople (today’s Istanbul) flourished until 1453.
The Byzantines kept Greek and Roman theatrical pieces alive and saved manuscripts and records of Classical playwrights.
Drama in the Early Middle Ages
Small groups of traveling performers – minstrels, jugglers, acrobats, bards, mimes, puppeteers -- went from town to town entertaining.
They performed in taverns and at festivals for the commoners and at court for the nobility
Festivals usually contained both pagan and Christian elements ( e.g. Halloween and Christmas celebrations )
Liturgical Drama
The Roman Catholic Church was responsible for the rebirth of European theatre in the 10th –12th century.
All Europe had been converted to Christianity
The Church needed ways to teach illiterate parishioners: cathedrals, stained glass windows, sculpture, painting and drama
Religious rituals ( the mass, baptism, etc.) embody theatrical elements.
Priests began to incorporate such elements into the gospel lessons of the mass.
The first short plays were called tropes
Written in Latin, these tropes were performed by the clergy during the mass.
Religious Vernacular Drama
Vernacular: language spoken by the people
To reach the commoners, the clergy began to translate the liturgical plays into vernacular languages
As the plays became more elaborate, they were moved from the altar of the church to the church yard.
As more roles were added, commoners were used as amateur actors
The 3 M’s of Religious Vernacular Drama
Mystery plays: Biblical stories
Miracle plays: saints’ lives
Morality plays: allegories
Mystery Plays
Mystery: from French mystere -- secret. The term could refer to Biblical truths or to the secrets of the crafts held by the guilds who were responsible for producing the plays.
In England, these Biblical plays were produced in cycles: a series of plays depicting Biblical history from the Creation to the Last Judgement. Also known as Cycle Plays.
The cycles were usually performed at the religious festival of Corpus Christi -- in the spring or early summer.
Mystery Plays performed by Trade Guilds
While the plays were written by the clergy and overseen by the Church, the performances were produced by the guilds of each town and mostly performed by amateur actors.
Productions were considered a religious duty, and each guild invested considerable resources into productions.
Plays were often assigned to guilds associated with the subject matter of the play and became a kind of “advertisement”
The Flood: Shipbuilders or Barrelmakers
The Nativity: Shepherds
The Magi: Goldsmiths
Miracle Plays
Miracle plays were similar to mystery plays in dramatic techniques
Dramatized the lives of Roman Catholic saints
(in order to become a saint, a person had to perform 3 documented miracles)
(in order to become a saint, a person had to perform 3 documented miracles)
The most popular subjects were the Virgin Mary (plays usually written in Latin), St. George (dragon slayer and patron saint of England) and St. Nicholas ( associated with Christmas festivities)
Morality Plays
Theme: how to live a Christian life and be saved.
Allegory:
A story told on two levels: the literal and the the symbolic
Plot: a journey through life or to death
Emphasis switches from Biblical and saintly protagonists to the common man: Everyman, Mankind
Focus on free will
First major use of professional acting companies
Dramatic Techniques
Theatre was performed in found spaces: town squares, taverns, churches, banquet halls -- no specifically designated theatres
Theatre was intimate -- audience interacted with performers
Elaborate special effects
Characterization was often dependent upon costume and makeup
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