Brief History of Theatre

History of theatre

Greek theatre:

•          Late 6^th century
•          Masks
•          Collecium style theatre
•          Outside no roof

Elizabethan theatre

·         Globe theatre – sam wanamaker

·         Shakespearain times

·         17^th century

·         Wood limited building material

·         Couldn’t make it any bigger

·         High class on balcony – lower class on floor

·         No roof

·         Shows in the afternoon so the sunlight would illuminate the stage

Georgian theatre

•          Small theatres
•          18^th century
•          Candle lit – caused fires
•          With roof
•          Still built with wood

Victorian theatre

•          Very much in fashion at the time
•          Royal opera house
•          Bigger rooms and had room
•          Finally moved on to better materials to build with
•          Didn’t set on fire
•          More space more money bigger better productions

Out of work sailors would usually be the ones pulling the ropes behind the stage, same kind of mechanism as on ships to hoist the sails.

Different types of stage:

•          Country yard theatre
•          Proscenium arch stage
•          Thrust stage
•          Theatre in the round
•          Open stage

The national theatre has 3 different types of stage open stage, proscenium, and studio space. They also have a drum revolve, only two theatres in the world have them. It’s like a trap door that elevates and lowers above or below the stage, it also turns.

Three types of Theatre Company:

•          Repertory Company
•          Touring company
•          Westend and Broadway theatre