The Middle Ages

Theatre HistoryDrama 1

Movie Clip

From Monty Python and The Holy Grail

What did you notice about the setting?

What did you notice about the people?

What does this say about the culture or the time period?

Rebirth of Drama

Came from the Christian Church Most of the people could not read,

so they used theatre to teach people about Christianity

Latin was used just like in Mass Performers: Priests, Nuns,

Choirboys

5th to 15th Century

Became more and more elaborate, so they were eventually moved outdoors

The drama eventually expanded beyond Latin

Also, members of the Parish became apart of the performances

Miracle Plays: based on legend of saints

Mystery Plays: tell stories based on biblical history

Passion Play: tells the story of the last week in the life of Christ

First performed with Mansions Mansions: series of acting stations

placed in a line, also called houses Examples: Heaven, Pilate’s House,

Jerusalem, and Hell’s Mouth Hell’s Mouth: breathed fire and

smoke, jaws opened and closed, the actors playing the wicked were pushed into it

Mansions

Late 14th century: medieval trade unions (guilds) took over the plays in England

Performed usually during Corpus Christi: a festival

Each guild had its own part of the story Bakers: The Last Supper Goldsmiths: The Three Wisemen Shipwrights: Construction of the Ark

Pageant Wagons

A stage on wheels Each guild had

their own Two levels:

Upper: platform stage

Lower: curtained for a dressing room

Audience stayed in one place as wagons traveled from town to town

Cycle: series of short plays that depicted religious history from creation to the end

Guilds competed against each other trying to make their pageant wagon performance the most elaborate

There were also some secular plays

The Second Shepherd’s Play About a clever man

named Mak who steals a sheep, and makes people believe it is his son by hiding it in a crib

First Acting Companies

Groups of players who traveled around performing miracle and mystery plays

Church did not care for them, so they lost popularity

Later, they found a new audience with the nobility

Morality Play

More about right and wrong Usually consisted of symbolic characters

who represented some extreme quality Everyman is still performed today

Written in Dutch in 1495 Translated into English later

Other forms of Theatre

Interludes: short, funny sketches performed in between serious plays

Chronicle Plays: based on historical events

Masques: artistic spectacles that glorified the nobility and were for noble entertainment

DiscussionPage 304

If today’s trade unions or guilds performed plays to celebrate their crafts like in the middle ages, what stories might some of them choose?

Sources

Schanker, Harry H. and Katharine Anne Ommanney. The Stage and The School. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.

www.answers.com/topic/medieval-theatre internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/.../puppets.html http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/secondshepherdspageant/

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