Western theatre

Table of Contents

Introduction
The origins of Western theatre
- Pre-Classical antiquity
  - Nature worship
  - Shamanism
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Greece
  - Dramatic genres
  - The theatre
- Ancient Rome
  - Native traditions
  - Imitation of Greek models
  - Seeds of decay
  - Mime and pantomime
Medieval theatre
- Popular traditions and secular theatre
- Liturgical drama
- Mystery cycles
- Morality plays
- Interludes
Renaissance theatre
- Classical revival
- The Renaissance stage
- Major theatrical styles, tendencies, and forms
  - Italian Neoclassicism
  - Courtly entertainments
  - Opera
  - Commedia dell’arte
  - Jesuit theatre and school drama
  - Spain’s Golden Age
  - English theatre
    - Elizabethan theatre
    - Jacobean theatre
  - German theatre
  - French Neoclassicism
  - Spread of national theatres
  - Ballet and opera-ballet
  - Restoration theatre
The 18th century theatre
- Middle-class drama
- The beginnings of American theatre
The 19th-century theatre
- The Romantic theatre
  - Melodrama
  - The early 19th century
  - Rise in the number of theatres
  - Romantic realism
  - The actor-manager
- Movement toward realism
  - Naturalism
  - Théâtre-Libre
  - Freie Bühne
  - The independent theatre
  - Moscow Art Theatre
- The American theatre
- Popular entertainment
Theatre of the 20th century and beyond
- After realism
  - The new stagecraft
  - Russia
  - Italy
  - Expressionism in Germany
  - Avant-garde in France
  - Ireland
  - Great Britain
  - United States
- Post-World War II theatre
  - Avant-garde experiments
    - The epic theatre of Brecht
    - Theatre of Fact
    - Theatre of the Absurd
    - Theatre of Cruelty
    - Poor theatre
  - United States
    - Broadway
    - Off-Broadway
    - Off-Off Broadway and regional theatre
    - African American, Asian, and Hispanic companies
    - Women’s companies and gay and lesbian theatre
  - Great Britain
    - Alternative theatre
    - National theatres
    - Government subsidies
    - Regional theatre
  - Australia, New Zealand, and Canada
  - France
  - Germany
  - Theatre under the Soviet Union
  - Other European countries

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Egyptian Book of the Dead: Anubis

Epidaurus: amphitheatre

Leptis Magna, Libya: Roman amphitheatre

Drawing of an ancient Roman pantomimus

Witness Western theatre in the Middle Ages by following a troupe performing The Play of Abraham and Isaac

setting for the Valenciennes mystery play

Andrea Palladio and Vincenzo Scamozzi: Teatro Olimpico

commedia dell'arte troupe

Go inside a Globe Theatre model with Maynard Mack to examine features of the Elizabethan playhouse

Italian-manner stage

Read Next

Sculpture of woman before restoration (left) and after restoration on the exterior of an office building in Palencia, Spain. (art restoration)

5 Art Restorations Gone Wrong

Discover

Statue of Nostradamus

Nostradamus and His Prophecies

Town of Sisimiut located on the coast of the Davis Strait on Kangerluarsunnguaq Bay, Greenland

The Largest Islands in the World

Giorgione, Italian, 1477/1478-1510, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1505/1510, oil on panel, overall: 90.8 x 110.5 cm (35 3/4 x 43 1/2 in.), Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.289, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

8 Must-See Paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

illustration of the walking titanosaurus, Patagotitan mayorum

Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs

Close up of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box. Election vote voter voting

Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term?

Calendar marking march 15th

What Is the “Ides” of March?

Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)

The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church

Arts & Culture

Western theatre

art

Written by Kenneth Grahame Rea

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 5, 2024 • Article History

Egyptian Book of the Dead: Anubis

Egyptian Book of the Dead: Anubis

Category: Arts & Culture

Related Topics:: Western arts

See all related content →

Western theatre, history of the Western theatre from its origins in pre-Classical antiquity to the present. For a discussion of drama as a literary form, see dramatic literature and the articles on individual national literatures. For detailed information on the arts of theatrical performance and stagecraft, see theatre, directing, acting, and theatrical production. Notwithstanding its great diversity of styles, forms, themes, and functions, the theatre of today has its roots in a basic impulse to embody expression mimetically. Theatre is a social art based on explorations of the cycles of nature, the progression from birth to death, and the forces ...(100 of 31765 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.