Thursday, 27 March 2008

The origins of the Theatre in England


The origins of the Theatre in England are linked to religious celebration and the performance took place in the nave of the church. During the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries Latin was replaced with English and people took the place of monks and priests in these performances, so-called “Miracle Plays”.
The subjects of Miracle Plays were stories from the Bible and they were performed on movable stage wagons called pageants .These pageants were open on all sides; people used to stop in front of a pageant to watch an episode they wanted to see.

The next development in drama were the “Morality Plays”, whose characters were not taken from the Bible but they were personifications of human vices and virtues. At the end of the 15th century started to be used the word “Interlude” referring to a short play usually performed at a lord’s house, that tried to combine serious and comic elements.

by Mauro Paradisi

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