Theatre History

The Christian church banned Roman theatricals, introduced liturgical drama into its services years later, and eventually permitted guilds to manage them. By the 9th century,...

Isabella Andreini, playwright and prima donna, and comic Francesco Andreini performed with commedia dell'arte's foremost company, the Gelosi. Early companies of commedia dell’arte comprised all-male...

William Shakespeare was an actor and co-owner at the Globe Theatre. "Julius Caesar" was likely the first of his plays performed in the new...

A monastery built in 1278 by Dominican monks was closed in 1538 by Henry VIII, used as site of two theatres, and permanently closed...

Catherine "Kitty" Clive was a prime audience favorite during her forty years on the British stage. Catherine Clive was born in London, England in 1711,...

Queen Elizabeth fully supported the theatre but the London politicians did not, so traditional venues were utilized by acting companies. The Queen enjoyed the plays...

Sophocles was the great Greek playwright of over 120 plays, seven of which are surviving today. What was the great Greek playwright Sophocles' childhood like?...

Roman Comedy borrowed heavily from its Greek counterpart, however, the Roman Comedians made substantial changes and created a poper Roman style of Comedy. The two...

An introduction to some of the key ideas about one of the world's most powerful and strange body of plays. Some of the richest and...

Antigone is a tragic play written in the fifth century BC by the great Greek poet Sophocles. The title character is the daughter of...