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Medieval Theatre

Historical Context   Fall of Roman Empire (5th Century) led to the

Middle Ages (10th – 15th Century)   Political turmoil   Increasing influence of the Church as stable

“government”

  Little known about theatre   Banned by law

  “Underground” performances

Medieval Times Purpose of Theatre   Secular performances banned by the Church

  Liturgical drama – developed from worship

  Primary means of religious instruction for a largely illiterate population

  Expressed spiritual ideas in an entertaining way

  Made religion accessible   Language of worship = Latin

Liturgical Drama   Portions of performances were sung = tropes

  Mystery plays   Passages from the Bible sung or narrated   Specifically Christian drama based on Catholic

teachings, ceremonies

  Miracle plays   Depict the lives of saints   Gruesome scenes of torture, individualized

characters, interesting plots, special effects

Liturgical Drama   Morality plays

  Deal with the present   Didactic = meant to educate

  Deal with life, death, salvation of a Christian   Dramatize God’s plan for the universe and the

individual

  Often in the form of an allegory (extended metaphor) using personification of Vice/Virtue

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Liturgical Drama   Mystery, miracle, and morality plays all have three

basic things in common:   Aim to teach or reinforce Church doctrine   Melodramatic – good rewarded, evil punished   God and God’s plan were the driving forces, not the

characters

Actors   First liturgical plays performed by priests and

choirboys

  No women allowed on stage

  As more actors were needed, generally amateurs/labourers presented scenes connected with their field of work

  Satan as comic character meant devils had to be experienced acrobats, singers, dancers to add comic relief

Audience   Men, women, children allowed to watch

  Didactic theatre – broad audience desired

  Squished in the pews of a church, later outside

  Actors would solicit money from the audience (pass the hat)

Costuming   Costumes were elaborate, often embroided

  Black or red leather for devils

  Leather breeches for men

  Gloves for God

  Men wore a shawl or scarf when playing women

  Masks

  Jewelry – gold haloes, gold masks for God/angels

Stages   Two major kinds: fixed and moveable

  Began with use of the church as the stage space

  Evolved to fixed stages outside, set up in courtyards, town squares

  Moveable: pageant wagons moved through the streets while the audience stayed in one place, like parade floats   Plays were performed in sequence (each play several

times)

Fixed Stage

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Moveable Stage Conventions & Effects   Plays became more complex once outside the

church

  Heaven on the right, Hell on the left, Earth in the middle

  Master of Secrets – in charge of the machines (secrets) = special effects

  Often very intricate machinery   One stage required 17 people to operate “Hell”

  Trap doors for appearing/disappearing in a raised wooden platform

Conventions & Effects   Chains used to descend God and angels from

Heaven

  Realistic executions called for with bloody wounds, severed heads & limbs

  Floods, fires, earthquakes on stage

  Most machinery operated from underneath the stage

  Overhead machinery sometimes covered with painted cloths to represent the sky

  Simultaneous display of several locations

Modern Connections?

Everyman   Allegorical

  Everyman is called before God in death to account for his life, and tries to persuade a series of characters (Fellowship, Goods, Good Deeds) to go with him, to help plead his case and save his soul

Everyman