Theatre History - Ancient Greeks

Ancient Greek theatre was practised around 3000 years ago and is said to be the first 'proper' theatre in the Western World.

Staging

The main staging that was used was the Amphitheatres which were open-air venues which used the existing landscape around them. The closest members of the audience were really far away so facial expressions and voice were hard to understand. An intelligent design solved this as the sound refracted back from the seats which allowed all the audience to hear what was being said at all times.

For example, the great amphitheatre Epidaurus had acoustics so good that actors could be heard by all 1500 spectators. Epidaurus was built by Polykleitos on the side of a mountain overlooking an Asclepian sanctuary. It was only uncovered once again in 1881 and plays began performing again in 1938. It even hosts part of the 'Athens and Epidaurus festival' staged in summer bringing ancient and modern plays/musicals together in one place.


Acting/Plays

There were multiple genres of plays which included:

Comedy: Mainly satirical and mocked those in power. Plays written by Aristophanes Menander were bout ordinary people and can be regarded as ancient sit-coms.

Tragedy: Big themes such as love, loss, power, relations with gods, or a protagonist commits an act he doesn't realise is devastating. Aristotle argued tragedy cleared the heart through catharsis.

Satyr: Short and between tragedy acts and made fun of the main characters in the tragedy.

Popular plays included the plays written by Sophocles such as the Theban plays which include Oedipus Rex (the plot of which has been described in my Berkoff blogs). The other two plays in the trilogy include Oedipus at Colonus (where Oedipus' daughter Antigone arrive at Colonus and encounter the King of Athens only for Oedipus to die) and Antigone (which the previous Y13s performed last year).

Why did people go?

The majority of plays were performed during City Dionysia festival honouring the God of Theatre and Wine Dionysis. Men used to perform songs to welcome Dionysis and only men were allowed in.

Basis

The origin for this theatre begins in Athens when ancient hymns were sung to honour Gods which were then adapted into songs for the Chorus to sing. Then the development of what we now regard as acting occurred. In the 6th century BC, a tyrant established public festivals. The priest Thespis introduced the City Dionysia festival which is considered to be the birth of theatre as Thespis was the first Greek actor and originator of Greek tragedy.

Masks

They were highly decorated and the expressions were clear so that the audience could see. Moreover, the mask amplified the actors' voice as they were cupped at the mouth. Unfortunately, they were made from cork and/or linen so none were preserved.

Chorus


The Chorus accentuated the main points and explained the action and they could vary in size. They were very important to the performance as they weren't allowed to show violence on stage so the Chorus would fill in the blanks that didn't happen on stage.