History of Theatre

Roman Theatre

A/N: mentions of nudity, but it's incredibly minor. This chapter talks about how Greek theatre, transitioned into Roman theatre, and how the Roman empire still used the orignal Greek subjects, as well as some stuff about playwrights.

Western civilization developed and expanded considerably under the Romans. The Roman historian, Livy, wrote that the Romans first experienced theatre in the 4th century BC, with a performance by Etruscan actors. The theatre of Ancient Rome was a thriving and diverse art form, ranging from festival performances of street-style, nude dancing, and to the staging of Plautus's (a playwright) broadly appealing comedies, to the complicated spoken tragedies of Seneca. (A Roman stoic, philosopher, statesman and dramatist.)

After the expansion of the Roman Republic, (509-27 BC), into a few Greek Territories. Between 270-240 BC, Rome was introduced to Greek drama. Many years later, theatre had spread across Europe, around the Mediterranean, until it reached England; Rome theatre was more varied, extensive and sophisticated than any culture before it. While Greek drama continued to be performed throughout the Roman period. The year 240 BC marks the beginning of Roman drama.

The first Important works of Roman literature were the tragedies and comedies that were written by Livius Andronicus, in the year 240 BC. About five years later, Gnaeus Naevius also began to write drama. But no plays from either writer survived. Even though they both wrote the same genres, Andronicus was more known for his tragedies, and Naevius for his comedies. Their successors also tended to specialise in one or the other, which led to a separation of the development of each type of each type of drama. By the beginning of the 2nd century BC, drama was firmly established in Rome and a guild (a group of artists or merchants who over see the practice of their craft or trade in a particular area.) of writers had been formed.

The Roman comedies that have survived are all "Fabula Palliata", (comedies based on Greek subjects), and come from Titus Maccius Plautus, (or just Plautus,) and Publius Terentius Afer, (or Terence), both Roman playwrights. While re-working the Greek originals the Roman dramatists removed the role of the chorus, (the contest of Ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays, and the modern works inspired by them), and introduced musical accompaniment to its dialogue, (combining one-third of Plautus' comedies and two-thirds of Terence). Plautus was the more popular of the two, he wrote between 205, and 184 BC, and twenty of his comedies have survived, he was best known for his farces, (entertaining the audience by highly exaggerating situations). All six comedies that Terence wrote between 166 and 160 BC have survived; the complicatedness of his plots, which he often combined Greek originals, which were sometimes denounced, but his double plots showed more of a sophisticated presentation of contrasting human behaviour.

No early Roman tragedies have survived, although it was known in its day; historians know of three early tragedians, Quintus Ennius, Marcus Pacuvius, and Lucius Accius. From the time of the empire, only works from two tragedians have survived, one is unknown, but the other is Seneca. Nine of Seneca's tragedies have survived, all of which are "fabula Crepidata", which are tragedies adapted from Greek originals.

A/N: wow, a new chapter the next day?? Yes, i am surprised too! I hoped you enjoyed reading about Roman theatre! Tomorrow it will probably be about Medieval theatre.

References: Wikipedia.