Initially performances were linked to religious celebration, in particular Christian events: monks and priests acted pieces of Bible in churches.
Then, during the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, these performances took place elsewhere, and members of trade guilds, not more monks and priests, acted in them. During this period Latin was replaced with English too.These performances, called Miracle Plays, gave dramatic shape to the whole story of the Bible and they were set on movable stage wagons called pageants, which stopped at different place in town. In front of them people watched the episode they wanted to see.
Then appeared a new kind of performance: the Morality Play. Their characters weren’t taken from the Bible, but they were personifications of human vices and virtues. This represented the first step towards a psychological interpretation of characters.
At the end of the 15th century were created Interludes. Theese were short plays that combined serious and comic elements, performing by a small acting company at lord’s house.
By Giulia Covacci
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