Theatre. Theatre is a magic word for many people

Theatre is a magic word for many people. Theatre has long been important in British and American cultural life. Some people go to the theatre to laugh, to relax, to escape from their everyday worries and cares. Others go to be emotionally stirred, to live (in a second-hand way) through the troubles and crises of the characters on the stage. Still others seek adventure and excitement. Some are curious to find out how other people live. Some go to learn, to be taught a moral lesson. As the French actor Louis Jouvet said, “Faced with the mystery of life, men invented the theatre.”

There are many different kinds of theatre performances. Circus, carnival, night club, fair, vaudeville, musical comedy, ballet, modern dance, opera, and operetta are all forms of theatre. Motion pictures, television, and radio present all these forms.

Attending the theatre in ancient Greece was a great festive occasion. The statue of Dionysus, god of wine, was carried through the streets, leading a procession to the outdoor hillside theatre where the plays were to be performed. Several plays, all religious and nationalistic in character, were shown in one day. The spectators thrilled to the dramatic stories of gods and heroes and had the added excitement of witnessing a contest, for the best playwright was awarded a prize. Greek theatre had its origins in song and dance.

The drama of the Middle Ages began with a simple Latin dialogue spoken in the church. The dialogue grew into plays. At first they were in Latin and acted out in the church. Later they were in the people's language and acted out on the church steps or in the courtyards of inns.

Before 1576 there was no proper theatre in London. The first one, called simply the Theatre, was built by James Burbage in 1576. Many more theatres were built in short order—the Curtain, Rose, Swan, Hope, Fortune, and most important, the Globe. The Globe Theatre opened in 1599, with “Julius Caesar” as one of its first productions. It staged the first performances of many of Shakespeare's tragedies. The plays were acted by the Lord Chamberlain's men, later known as the King's Men. Shakespeare was an actor in this company.

The most significant development in theatre in the decades after World War II was diversity. London continued to maintain its leadership in theatre in the United Kingdom. Especially significant were the efforts of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the English Stage Company. By the early 1980s there were more than 300 small repertory theatre troupes operating in Great Britain. They performed in colleges, at private clubs, in pubs, and outdoors. Their productions were varied enough to attract very diverse audiences—in many cases people who had never attended theatre before.

Although Broadway – New York City’s theatrical district—has long been synonymous with theatre for most Americans, the United States has never been without an extensive network of theatres. Most of these depended on travelling troupes of dramatic artists, musicians, or vaudevillians working out of New York or Europe. After 1945, however, there was a strong growth of local theatre. Much of it was summer stock, but some companies had regular seasons and depended on local talent. The works presented were normally standard productions – either classics or plays that had originated on Broadway.

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