Muhammad Iqrash Awan BT-08-06

Mehreen Fatima BT-08-24

Kashif Ahsan BT-08-43

Sohaib Ehsan BT-08-63

Group No. 3

What is Drama?

Origin of Drama

Greek Drama

Roman Drama

Fall of Rome

The Death of Drama

The Rebirth of Drama

Contents

Medieval Drama

Late Medieval Drama

Renaissance Drama

Modern Drama

Present Time

Conclusion

Contents

Drama is a literary composition, which is performed by professional actors on stage (or theatre), before an audience.

It involves conflicts, actions and a particular theme.

Eye-catching make up, facial expressions and body language of the artists are prominent features.

What is a Drama?

Western drama originated in Greece around 500 B.C.

Ancient Greek drama consists of three kinds of plays:

Tragedy

Comedy

Satyr plays

Origin of Drama

The first tragedies are said to have been performed in 534 B.C. at the festival of Dionysus in Athens

Satyr-dramas were added in 501 B.C.

Comedies were first officially produced in Athens in 486 B.C.

Ancient Greek Drama

Greek drama flourished in Athens through 500 B.C. to 300 B.C.

Athens appears to have been the primary locus of dramatic activity in classical Greece.

Comedies were also performed from the beginning of the fifth century B.C. onward in Sicily.

Ancient Greek Drama

The earliest dramas were designed to worship gods and goddesses.

Masks were used to represent characters, high-soled boots were worn to add height.

Antigone, Oedipus Rex and Medea are among the famous plays written during this time.

Ancient Greek Drama

Roman drama refers to any dramatic form—tragedy, comedy, farce, mime, and pantomime—composed in the Latin language.

Latin was used by the inhabitants of the city of Rome and eventually became the administrative language of the Roman Republic (509–30 B.C.) and the Roman Empire (30 B.C.–476 A.D.).

Roman Drama

The Romans witnessed the first form of dramatic performance in Rome in 364 B.C.

The people of Tuscany staged the performance in order to help the Romans avert a plague.

They performed some form of dance accompanied by flute music.

Roman Drama

The first official dramatic performance was performed in Rome in 240 B.C.

Livius Andronicus stage a tragedy and a comedy at the ludi Romani (Roman games).

Livius Andronicus was a Greek slave.

It is unclear whether his performances were translations or adaptations of Greek dramas.

Roman Drama

Roman comedies and tragedies were performed at:

Festivals known as Ludi

Temple dedications

Triumphal parades

Funerals of Roman aristocrats.

Roman Drama

Roman theaters were temporary wooden structures taken down after the performance.

The first stone stage was seen after 55 B.C.

Roman nobility funded Roman dramas, the actors themselves were noble.

Roman Drama

With the fall of the Roman empire, Roman drama comes to its own end.

Roman drama and Roman comedy in particular have enduring effect on the Western dramatic tradition.

Fall of Rome

From the fall of Rome in the late fifth century until the tenth century, the drama was essentially dead.

This was due in part to the Romans’ lack of interest in drama and the Christians of late antiquity.

The Death Of Drama

Acting was considered unchristian in the early Medieval period as Roman Catholic Church banned theatrical performances.

Drama remained dead for several years.

The Death Of Drama

Drama was reintroduced into western Europe in the tenth century.

Just as drama was born among Greek as a part of religious observances, among Christians it too was reborn as a part of religion.

Drama was reborn during The Middle Ages (Medieval Period).

The Rebirth of Drama

The Christian festival celebration had always included elements that were potentially dramatic.

In the 10th century bits of chanted dialogue, called tropes, were added to the Easter celebration.

This was the beginning of drama in post-classical western Europe.

Medieval Drama

These little plays (troops) grew more elaborate.

Some of the later Latin plays were elaborate and, taking well over an hour to perform.

The purpose of these plays was to teach religion.

Medieval Drama

A great deal of dramatic material is found in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and the 14th century. Most of it is religious.

These plays can be divided into: The mystery plays - life of Christ

Miracle plays – lives of saints.

Morality plays – being good/ moral

Late Medieval Drama

The English Renaissance, a cultural and artistic movement in England from 16th to early 17th century.

It paved the way for the dominance of drama in the country.

Queen Elizabeth I ruled during the period

Great poetry and drama were produced.

Renaissance Drama

The renowned playwrights of this time include William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster.

The dramatists wrote plays based on themes like history, comedy and tragedy.

Shakespeare emerged as an artist who produced plays based on all the three themes.

Renaissance Drama

Drama had previously been performed in temporary spaces.

In 1567 the first public theater, the Red Lion Theatre in Whitechapel, was built.

With the establishment of public theaters and acting companies the demand for plays was met by a group of highly educated men who were deeply educated in classical literature.

Renaissance Drama

Modern Drama, begins in the late nineteenth century and continues to the present day.

By the late nineteenth century the Industrial Revolution and other economic changes insured that prosperous, educated middle-class people comprise the majority of theater-goers.

Modern Drama

Romanticism gave way to Realism

during the 19th century, paving the way for the era of contemporary drama in the 20th century.

Contemporary drama shows the influence of all that has come before.

Modern drama involved much experimentation with new forms and ideas.

Modern Drama

In the early part of the 20th century, musical drama came to dominate stages in New York and England, although each theater season saw the release of straight dramatic plays as well.

The renowned playwrights of this time include W. S. Gilbert, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw.

Modern Drama

The majority of musical dramas of the 20th century were written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

His works gained immense popularity.

The dramas traveled to Broadway in New York and around the world.

Some of them were turned into feature films as well.

Present Time

Postmodernism had a serious effect on the

existence of English drama, in the end of 20th century.

However, a large number of theatres still exist around Shaftesbury Avenue, in the western part of London.

The Royal Shakespeare Company, operating from Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's hometown), currently produces most of the plays written by the legendary dramatist.

Present Time

Drama in Western Europe was started by Greeks which influenced most of the dramas in Rome.

As the world saw the fall of Roman empire, the drama died as well.

Drama was reborn in the early Medieval time as part of religion.

Conclusion

People like William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster changed the way dramas were perceived during Renaissance.

The modern drama is still much alive but most people are starting to take more interest in other sources of entertainment.

Conclusion