A HISTORY OF
EUROPEAN THEATRE
Rachel Holder
6 th P e r i o d
MORALIT Y PLAYS
 Morality plays are religious dramas that taught a lesson along
with the story.
 The characters usually represented good and evil, and the plot
normally involved a struggle for human’s soul.
 Late 14 th Century -16 th Century.
 Preformed by traveling troupes in the streets.
 Became much less popular during the Protestant Reformation.
 Most famous is Ever yman (which is still preformed today).
 The main character, Everyman, is summoned by death. All of
his friends (Beauty, Kindred, and Worldly Goods) abandon him,
except for Good Deeds.
 In 1558, Elizabeth I ascends the throne and bans all religious
plays (except in church).
COMEDIA DELL’ARTE
 Emerged in Italy around 1560.
 First public professional theatre in Italy.
 Designed to make the common person laugh.
 Slapstick comedy.
 Preformed by troupes.
 Used stock characters, most of whom wore masks.
 Spread through out Europe.
 Began to die out around 1776
Il Capitano
Harlequin
Pantalone
COMMERCIAL THEATERS IN ENGLAND
 In 1576, James Burbage builds the first commercial theater
just outside of London. It is called “The Theatre.”
 Over the next 18 years, three more theaters —The Curtain, The
Rose, and The Swan are built.
 In 1599, The Theatre is dismantled and moved across the
Thames River.
 It is rebuilt as The Globe.
 The development of commercial theaters meant common
people could enjoy drama. Prior to this point, theatre had
been for the aristocracy.
 Seeing plays became a regular form of entertainment for
people of all classes.
The Globe
The Rose
The Globe
The Curtain
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
 Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist.
 His play, Tamburlaine the Great, introduces a blank
verse that defines Elizabethan and Jacobean drama.
 Edward II is the first play to dramatize English
history as a conflict between real characters.
 He died shortly before Shakespeare became popular.
 His career in drama only lasted 6 years, and did not
carry many works.
Christopher Marlowe
SHAKESPEARE
 William Shakespeare is often considered the greatest
playwright of all time.
 His first plays to be preformed were the three parts of Henry
VI.
 Shortly after, London theatres are closed because of the
plague, but his career accelerates afterwards.
 He was a part of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which later
granted royal favor by James I and renamed the King’s Men.
 Some of his most famous plays are: Hamlet, Romeo and
Juliet, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Othello, and Macbeth.
 All together, he wrote 36 plays which were published by two of
his colleagues in the First Folio (1623).
 Shakespeare’s plays are still widely read and preformed
today.
NEOCLASSICAL THEATRE
 17 th Century
 Involved melodrama and large
gestures
 Over-the-top scenery and
costumes
 Included the restoration period
 Had strict guidelines as to how
plays were to be written and
how actors were to preform.
 Important Works:
 Le Cid by Pierre Corneille
 Tartuffe by Moliere
 Andromaque by Jean Racine
RESTORATION COMEDY
 In 1642, the Puritans close all English
theatres.
 In 1660, the theatres are reopened
and the Restoration Comedy emerges.
 The Restoration Comedy refers to the
British comedies that were preformed
in response to the reopening of the
theatres.
 They were known for their sexual
explicitness, encouraged by Charles
II.
 This period also saw the first
actresses and the first professional
woman playwright, Aphra Behn.
STURM UND DRANG
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A movement among German playwrights in the 18 th century
Translated as “Storm and Stress”
Focused on Nature, feeling, and individuality
A response to the rationalism of the enlightenment
Important Works:
 Götz von Berlichingen mit der eisernen Hand by Goethe- first success
 Die Räuber by Friedrich Schiller- last success
REALISM
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19 th Century
Dealt with everyday life, and used contemporary settings.
Involved science and human behavior
Social problems were the main subject
A lot of feminist works emerged during this time period.
Important Works:
 A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen--- feminist themes; considered the
father of realism
 Mrs. Warren’s Profession by George Bernand Shaw--- prostitution
 Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
A Doll’s House
Mrs. Warren’s Profession
Three Sisters
NATURALISM
 Late 19 th to early 20 th century.
 Attempted to mimic reality.
 There were detailed sets, everyday speech, variety of classes,
normal characters and settings, and a lack of divine
intervention.
 More extreme version of Realism
 Important Works:
 The Power of Darkness by Leo Tolstoy--- banned in Russia until 1902
 The Father by August Strindberg--- misogynistic themes
 Therese Raquin by Emile Zola--- "study temperaments and not
characters"
Therese Raquin
The Father
CONSTANTINE STANISLAVSKI
 Possibly the most famous acting
theorist.
 Began as an actor, and was sick of
seeing mechanical and over acting.
 Developed a system to help actors
discover their characters
 The inspiration for his method
came out of the realist and
naturalist periods.
 Thought acting should be honest
instead of over-the-top
 His “system” is still widely used
today.
EPIC THEATRE
 Contrasted with
Stanislavski’s method
 Bertolt Brecht was the
father of it
 Thought that Stanislavski
was providing an escape
for the audience
 The audiences of Epic
Theatre performances
always knew they were
watching a play.
 Characters often break
the “forth wall”
EXPRESSIONISM
 Early 20 th century
 Began in Germany
 Deal with spiritual awakening and
suffering
 A popular theme was the conflict
between bourgeoisie values and
established authority.
 Not focused on reality, but emotions.
 Important Works:
 Murderer, the Hope of Women by Oskar
Kokoschka--- first expressionistic play
 The Beggar by Reinhard Sorge--Bourgeoisie vs. government
 Parricide by Arnolt Bronnen
Parricide
DADAISM
 A cultural movement that
peaked around 1916-1922.
 Involved the visual arts, not just
theatre
 Anti-war, anti- bourgeoisie, and
anarchist.
 Believed the ideology of the
bourgeoisie had started WWI.
 Some described it as “anti -art”
because it was not aesthetically
pleasing.
 Important Works:
 The Gas Heart and Handkerchief of
Clouds(“ironic tragedy”) by Tristan
Tzara
The Gas Heart
SURREALISM
 Began in 1920’s
 Paris was the center of the
movement
 Developed out of Dadaism
 Seeks to surprise the
audience by using
unexpected juxtapositions.
 Important works:
 Les Mamelles de Tiresias by
Guillaume Apollinaire--- first
surrealist play
 When Five Years Pass by
Frederico Garcia Lorca
 The Mysteries of Love by
Roger Vitrac
Les Mamelles de Tirestas
THEATRE OF THE ABSURD
 Came about because of World
War II
 Embodied meaninglessness of
human existence
 Abandoned traditional dramatic
devices
 Sought to convey the feelings of
humans during and after the
war.
 Important Works:
 Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco
 Waiting for Godot by Samuel
Beckett
THEATRE OF CRUELT Y
 Similar to the Theatre of the
Absurd
 Sought to “assault the
audience with movement and
sound”
 Brought about an instinctive,
rather than intellectual,
reaction.
 Again, this was in response to
the violence of WWII
 Important Works:
 Look Back in Anger by John
Osborne
 Marat/Sade by Peter Weissclass struggles
Marat/Sade
POSTMODERNISM
Mid 20 th century
Reaction to modernism
There is no definite truth
Encourages the audience to
reach their own interpretation
 Raises questions instead of
supplying answers.
 Important Works:
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 Hamletmachine by Heiner Muller--not a conventional plot
 4.48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane--- No
characters
 A Mouthful of Birds by Cheryl
Churchill--- No scenes, just
vignettes.
A Mouthful of Birds
OTHER THEATRE AFTER WWII
 Theatre af ter World War II
took included many dif ferent
styles from previous centuries.
 Experimental theatre emerged
in the 1960’s, such as the
Polish Laborator y Theatre
 The theme of many dramatic
works focused on issues at the
time
 Popular themes included:
women’s rights and gay
liberation
 Impor tant Works:
 Top Girls by Cheryl Churchill
 Bent by Martin Sherman
 Mean Tears by Peter Gill
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
 An English composer
 He’s won seven Tony Awards,
three Grammy Awards, an
Academy Award, a Golden
Globe award, and many
others.
 Some of his famous works
include
 Cats
 The Phantom of the Opera
Phantom of the Opera
Cats
PICTURE SOURCES
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