Theatre, scene, drama, tragedy, comedy, chorus, dialogue: all these words are of Greek origin. It should not be surprising, therefore, that Western theater was born in ancient Greece. Tradition attributes the first forms of theater to Thespis tragedianwho arrived in Athens from the island of Icaria towards mid-6th century BC Through the centuries, from Greece and Rome to the Renaissance and the present day, theater has experienced stylistic and cultural evolutions, touching on religious and social themes. From the classical era to contemporary theatre, figures such as Euripides, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Molière, Goldoni and Brecht have left an indelible mark. Even after the advent of cinema and television, theater remains a living and ever-changing art form, with traditions that extend across the world, from Europe to Asia and Africa.
The Greek theatre
How do we get to know the theater environment ofAncient Greece? We know first of all that in Athens there was the custom of regularly organizing large celebrations, the modern equivalent of festivalin which the major playwrights of the time competed to win the favor of the public and the powerful. These representations, which had a social and personal educational purpose, could be tragedies – considered the highest form of art -, which were inspired by myths and heroic tales, or comedieswhich often served as a lighter interlude and took aim at the politics of the time. Thanks to great names in literature – like Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides for the tragedies, Aristophanes and Menander for comedies – the theater became a beloved one form of entertainment and education.
The Roman theatre
Theater was a highly appreciated art form even in Ancient Rome, with great authors such as Livy Andronicus, Gnaeus Nevius, Plautus and Terence for comedy and Seneca for the tragedy. In addition to the theatrical genres imported from Greece, the palliated (comedy) and the cothurnata (tragedy), so called because of the clothing that was worn by the characters on stage, genres with Roman settings developed, comedy robe (or entablature), the tragedy praetextaand other more popular comedy genres, such asatellana and the mime.
The theater in the Middle Ages
With the spread of Christianity the theater became unwelcome in many countries, except in the case of Sacred Representationconsisting of religious dramas with which the faithful, often illiterate, learned the main episodes of the Holy Scriptures. For this kind of works, among others, the German nun became famous Roswitha of Gandersheimwhich revived drama in the 10th century Germany. Collecting the legacy of mime andatellanaalso emerged in this period i jesterswho entertained the public with songs and acrobatics, but with harsh condemnations from the Church.
The theater in the Renaissance
During the Renaissance there was a general rebirth of the arts and so also of the theatre in many European countries, such as Italy, Spain, France and England. From religious or popular themes we returned to the “comedy all’antica”, that is, of classical Greek-Latin inspiration: a center of great importance in this sense was Ferrarathanks to the interest of Duke Ercole I d’Este who in the second half of the fifteenth century had adaptations of the comedies of Plautus and Terence introduced at court.
New original dramas emerged – often enriched by musical interludes, and many of an erudite taste – to be performed in the new wooden theatres, first temporary and then permanent. This is especially true thanks to the emergence of great Italian playwrights and tragedians: to name just a few, there are Niccolò Machiavelli, Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena, Pietro Aretino, Matteo Maria Boiardo, Ludovico Ariosto, Torquato Tasso and Giovan Battista Guarini. In Italy, actresses also began acting in this period, alongside actors: it would have taken centuries to achieve the same result in countries like England (which introduced them in the seventeenth century).
The theater of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
The Sixteenth century it was a very important century for the theater, and throughout Europe. Let’s see where:
- In France was born and consolidated classical theatre based on respect for the three Aristotelian unities (i.e. subject, time and place), and the so-called “golden age” began. The French taste of this period relies heavily on the dramatic work of Pierre Corneille and then Moliere (pseudonym of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) e Jean Racine : their works range from comedy, the result of an acute representation of human nature, to tormented tragedy.
- In England emerges, within the framework of the Elizabethan theatre, one of the best-known authors in the history of literature, William Shakespearewhose poetic and dramaturgical work constitutes an often essential reference even today.
- In Spain the master’s great production provides a lesson Lope de Vegawith Tirso de Molina And Pedro Calderón de la Barcabetween reality, dream and in fiction.
- In Italy the theater of professionals and masks emerges: it is the birth of Commedia dell’artewhich had great influence on the rest of Europe.
More theoretical Eighteenth centurywith the fundamental studies of Denis Diderot; in the meantime, technical innovations and Enlightenment inspirations arrived in England, France and Germany, while in Italy there was a wave of so-called pre-Goldonian authors. Then, after the emergence of figures like Pietro Metastasioauthor of intense melodramaswe have the famous playwright Carlo Goldonia reformer and experimenter who created grandiose character comedies, but also bourgeois and popular dramas, giving space to the characterization of the (especially Venetian) society of the time.
In the’Nineteenth century reaches its peak drama romantic: Romantic ideals are exalted in the works of the Germans Johann Wolfgang von Goethe And Friedrich Schillerby the Italians Alessandro Manzoni And Silvio Pellico. In the second half of the century, the society dramawith Oscar Wildeand the busy drama of George Bernard Shaw. In conjunction with the advance of naturalism and realism, the great tragedies give way to bourgeois dramabetween domestic themes and skilful use of dramatic devices: it was incomparable Victor Hugo in France, while in Italy there is Giovanni Verga.
Contemporary theatre
In the Twentieth century theater pays greater attention to physical action and gesture with the theoretical Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski. At the beginning of the century there was also greater attention to the figures of the actor and director. With the emergence of the historical avant-garde (such as Futurism, Dadaism and Surrealism), new forms of experimental theater were born throughout Europe: examples are the theater of cruelty of Antonin Artaud (later taken up by Jean Genet), the epic dramaturgy of Bertolt Brecht and, in the second half of the century, the theater of the absurd of Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco. Scandinavian playwrights also stand out August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsenand then the Bolshevik authors such as Vladimir Mayakovsky, and again Frank Wedekind and Alfred Jarry.
In post-war Spain the figure of Federico García Lorcawhile Italian theater was dominated for many years by the comedies of Louis Pirandellowith psychological dramas based on the introspective interpretation of the characters. After the Second World War we then witnessed a “rejuvenation” of the traditional repertoire, thanks to the work of playwrights such as Eduardo De Filippo, Dario Fo and Franca Rame and to the work of great directors such as Giorgio Strehler And Luchino Visconti.
Theater outside Europe
Finally, we must remember that even in the rest of the world there is a lively theater tradition different from the European and Italian one: the first public ceremonies with performing arts in‘Ancient Egypt they date back to 2600 BC Always in Africathere is a great panorama of traditional theatrical traditions characterized by the relevance of orality, rites, myths, dances, and musicality.
The South Asian landscape has its center in Indiaalso thanks to texts such as the Natya Sastra, written between 200 BC and 200 AD, and authors such as Bhāsa (4th century) and Kālidāsa (5th century), with traditions also relevant in the Vietnamese-Cambodian area.
The history of the is very rich Chinese and Japanese theater, characterized by the stylization of theatrical gestures and costumes and by the integration of dance, music, singing and acting.
Sources
Cesare Molinari, History of the theatre, Laterza, Milan 1996
History of the theatre. From the sacred drama of ancient Egypt to the new theater of the year 2000, Oscar G. Brockett, 2016
History of theater and entertainment, Roberto Alonge, Francesco Perrelli, 2019