MEDIEVAL THEATRE

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MEDIEVAL THEATRE

• Also known as
• GOTHIC or MIDDLE AGES

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500-900AD.

• Not much theatre performed
• New Christian rulers forbid theatre as pagan
  (not orthodox to their current religion)
• Greek and Roman plays ignored, forgotten

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Development of Church Drama_at_10th Century AD

• To make religious lessons more graphic
• To counteract allure of secular entertainment
• Performed in conjunction with religious holidays

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Mystery Plays

• Based on stories from the Christian Bible
• Performed inside the church, at stations of the
  cross
• Mansion-simple, symbolic scenic device to
  indicate locale
• Platea-area in front of mansion for acting
• Costumes-simple, contemporary, symbolic
• Actors are clergymen

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Mystery Plays

• _at_1200ADPlays move outside church
• Very popular with illiterate congregations, big
  crowds
• Interferes with liturgy
• Increasing scenic demands

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Mystery Plays_at_1450 AD

• Cost and physical production taken over by
  secular (non-religious) groups
• Church still supervises content
• Plays translated from Latin to vernacular (common
  language of the population)
• Performers are lay people, not clergy

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Mystery Plays

• Stationary stage
• Mansions set up in row, side by side
• Heaven is stage right
• Hell is stage left
• Earthly locales in between
• Hellmouth most popularspecial machinery or
  secrets
• Realism not a factor, use of symbolism

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CYCLE Plays

• A group of mystery plays performed together
• Usually grouped and named for the city that
  presented them York cycle, Wakefield cycle,
  etc.
• Most popular in England as part of Corpus Christi
  Festival
• Plays within cycle may be produced by different
  organizations guilds

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Cycle Plays in Festivals

• Often part of a procession through town
• Performed in town square, or a field on outskirts
  of town
• Guilds responsible for one or two mystery plays
  each
• Plays were often funny
• Often used moveable stage pageant wagon

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PAGEANT WAGONS

• Platform on wheels
• Pulled by men
• Small enough to fit down narrow streets
• Could be up to 15 wide, 8deep, 12high
• May have had second platform, pulled behind
• Carried scenic elements and properties
• Tiring Houserear of platform, curtained, as
  off-stage and dressing area

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Pageant Wagon

• A simple pageant wagon

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Pageant Wagon

• Pageant wagons had to fit down narrow European
  streets

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Pageant Wagon
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Pageant Wagon

• With platea off to one side

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Second Shepherds Play

• 13th mystery play in Wakefield Cycle
• Wakefield Cycle had 38 plays
• Based on one line in Christian Bible And there
  were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
  field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
• Funny, very secular in content
• About a prankster shepherd named Mak

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Other Types of Popular Religious Drama

• Passion Plays--- life, death, and resurrection
  of a religious figure (not always Christian)
• Miracle Plays---lives of saints and martyrs
• Morality Plays---spiritual trials of the
  average man allegorical symbolic characters
  like Greed, Death, Jealousy popular
  1400-1550 more secular EVERYMAN

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Decline of Medieval Drama

• In England, dissention within the church leads to
  prohibition of religious plays
• The Renaissance brings interest in more secular
  entertainment
• General waning of Church power and support
• Theatre becomes more commercial