Evolution of Medieval Theatre From Liturgical Drama to Morality Plays

TEATRO 12th century • Theatre is a direct evolution of a religious ritual • Liturgical drama was performed in Latin • The bible was the main source of the theatre • Many people were illiterate, so they had to see the play to understand it • The mystery plays were first, and they represented the God’s world – The Second Shephard’s play • The second were miracle plays that talked about The Saints of the church • The plays were performed on old pageants/ carts (stages) which could be moved around 13th century • Bible stories started to change • The guilds were asked to participate in the plays as actors 14th century • Morality plays came in (faith, truth, good deeds) vs (flesh, devil, falsehood) • One of the most popular morality plays “Everyman’’ 15th century • Outlaw of performances 16th and 17th century • Epidemics • Theatres were closing up • Censorship was very present – Office of Rebels • Elizabeth I ended cycle plays • “The Red Lion” was the ever first theatre in London • “The Theatre”, “The Globe”, “Blackfriars Theatre” • Jacobean and Caroline theatre • Revenge tragedies • Ben Jonson 18th century • England’s sentimental theatre • Bourgeois tragedy’s 19th century • Melodrama • Pantomime • Victorian and Edwardian drama • The theatre of ideas 20th century – new trends coming in • Well made plays • Kitchen sink drama • Theatre of the absurd • Epic theatre • Popular theatre • West End Musicals THE UNIVERSITY WITS - a group of well-educated playwrights, mostly from Oxford, Cambridge • Christopher Marlowe – Doctor Faustus • Thomas Kyd – The Spanish Tragedy • John Lyly – master of prose comedy • Robert Greene – Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay • George Peele – The Battle of Alcazar • Thomas Nashe – A satirical writer PUBLIC THEATRE • Audience: people from different social classes • Building: round or octagonal, no roof, no scenery (hanging cloths & few props) • Women were not accepted in the companies - young men played the female roles PRIVATE THEATRE • Audience: the high class - admission prices are higher • The building is roofed • Actors: children or young men JACOBEAN AND CAROLINE THEATRE • Ben Jonson is best known for his comedies of the humours. • The four humours - black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm • Illness resulted when humours were out of balance. • His comedies: not much psychology - the morality a lot less confusing, and characters are more stereotypical. REVENGE TRAGEDY • English Renaissance drama • “The tragedy of blood” or “the sex tragedy” • Thomas Kyd’s “The Spanish Tragedy” • John Ford’s “Tis a pity she’s a whore” • These plays are much more interested in gruesome, macabre, forms of murder • The revenge tragedy is still considered a moral genre sometimes because of all the gore. • These tragedies show the problems of sex and class • Others think they are interested in acting out sadistic fantasies, and delivering just shocks, thrills. THE COURT MASQUE • A very fancy kind of theatre • Was performed for nobles with professional actors taking on the comic roles • They were popular because they affirmed existing power structures • Most of the action was set to music • The Court Masque Masques were about themes like love, beauty and virtue • Acted out with fairytale stories of nymphs, gods and cupids. • They had a little poetry, a little plot and a lot of music and dancing. • Ben Jonson and his partner Inigo Jones • Inigo Jones - he introduced perspectival staging and invented all sorts of wonderful stage machinery like clouds. RESTORATION DRAMA • Puritanical Parliament banned theatre, mostly on religious grounds. • There was a law saying actors should be apprehended as criminals and theatres should be demolished. • Performances were small & clandestine, held in private homes, tennis courts, and inns. ------• The reopening of theatres was in 1660 • Charles II was on the throne - he started licensing theatre companies and helping theatres reopen. • Theatre became a way to celebrate the end of Puritan rule and moral code • Plays were light-hearted • Women in UK were allowed to perform in theatres • French culture was especially influential in Restoration comedy • The plays performed were very political • Common themes were religion, status in society, and sexuality • Heroic tragedies and romances borrowed from Spain and France RESTORATION COMEDIES • Witty, sexy, vulgar, outrageous plays about upper-class people looking for love • Marriage is not the happy ending • The genre was typically light-hearted and comedic. • Features - comedic tone, witty dialogue, satire, sexual content, complex plots, social commentary • William Wycherley – “The country wife” • Aphra Behn - “The Rover”