1. Medieval Theatre

2. Medieval Theatre Time frame: 5th c- mid 16th c
Secular theatre died in Western Europe with the fall of Rome
Theatrical performances were banned by the Roman Catholic Church as barbaric and pagan
Most Roman theatre had been spectacle rather than literary drama

3. Roman Spectacle Gladiatorial combats
Naval battles in a flooded Coliseum
“Real-life” theatricals
Decadent, violent and immoral
All theatrical events were banned by the Church when Rome became Christianized

4. Drama in the Early Middle Ages 500-1000
Small groups of traveling performers – minstrels, jugglers, acrobats, bards, mimes, puppeteers -- went from town to town entertaining.
They performed in taverns and at festivals for the commoners and at court for the nobility
Festivals usually contained both pagan and Christian elements ( e.g. Halloween and Christmas celebrations )

7. Liturgical Drama
The Roman Catholic Church was responsible for the rebirth of European theatre in the 10th –12th century
All Europe had been converted to Christianity
The Church needed ways to teach illiterate parishioners: cathedrals, stained glass windows, sculpture, painting and drama

8. The Last Supper from Chartres Cathedral

9. Liturgical Drama
Religious rituals ( the mass, baptism, etc.) embody theatrical elements.
Priests began to incorporate such elements into the gospel lessons of the mass.
The first short plays were called tropes
Written in Latin, these tropes were performed by the clergy during the mass.

10. The 3 M’s of Religious Drama
Mystery plays: Biblical stories
Miracle plays: saints’ lives
Morality plays: allegories

11. Religious Vernacular Drama
Vernacular: language spoken by the people
To reach the commoners, the clergy began to translate the liturgical plays into vernacular languages
As the plays became more elaborate, they were moved from the altar of the church to the church yard.
As more roles were added, commoners were used as amateur actors

13. Mystery Plays
Mystery: from French mystere -- secret. These plays told stories from the Bible—Moses, Noah, etc.
In England, these Biblical plays were produced in cycles: a series of plays depicting Biblical history from the Creation to the Last Judgement. Also known as Cycle Plays.
The cycles were usually performed at the religious festival of Corpus Christi -- in the spring or early summer.

14. Mystery Plays performed by Trade Guilds
While the plays were overseen by the Church, the performances were produced by the guilds of each town and mostly performed by amateur actors.
Over 300 “actors” participated in plays
Pageant Master=Director
Secret Master = Special effects master

15. Mystery Plays performed by Trade Guilds
Plays were often assigned to guilds associated with the subject matter of the play and became a kind of “advertisement”
The Flood: Shipbuilders or Barrelmakers
The Nativity: Shepherds
The Magi: Goldsmiths

16. Noah and the Flood

17. English Cycle Plays Each cathedral town had its own cycle: York
Chester
Wakefield
N-town
The Protestant Reformation brought a halt to the presentation of cycle plays as they incorporated Roman Catholic theology.
                           

18. Modern Productions Chester Mystery Plays York Mystery Plays
                                
Chester Mystery Plays
York Mystery Plays
B.J. Elvgren. Quilt: depicting scenes from Chester’s 14th century dramas set against modern city landmarks – Chester Cathedral

19. Dramatic Techniques
English mystery plays incorporate a combination of high seriousness and low comedy:
High seriousness: the Biblical stories of the Old Testament and Jesus’ life and mission
Low comedy: the plays incorporate almost slapstick sketches of contemporary medieval daily life.
EX: Wakefield Second Shepard’s Play

20. “The Last Judgement”
York Mystery Plays
2002 production

22. Staging the Plays STATIONARY (FRANCE, REST OF EUROPE)
PROCESSIONAL (ENGLAND AND SPAIN)
Pageant wagons would
travel a set route and perform at several locations: like a parade or
would be set up around a town square and the audience would travel from one wagon to the next to see the performances
STATIONARY (FRANCE, REST OF EUROPE)
Mansions or a series of stages would be set up around the town square
Anchored at either end by Heaven and Hell
Elaborate special effects such as floods, flying and fiery pits were very popular

23. Building a Pageant Wagon

24. Pageant wagon

25. Pageant wagon

26. Mansions and Hell Mouth

27. Miracle Plays
Miracle plays were similar to mystery plays in dramatic techniques
Dramatized the lives of Roman Catholic saints
The most popular subjects were
the Virgin Mary (plays usually written in Latin)
St. George (dragon slayer and patron saint of England)
St. Nicholas ( associated with Christmas festivities)

28. The Summoning of Everyman: Production
Morality Plays
Theme: how to live a Christian life and be saved.
Allegory:
A story told on two levels: the literal and the the symbolic
Plot: a journey through life or to death
Emphasis switches from Biblical and saintly protagonists to the common man: Everyman, Mankind, etc.
                                    
LEGO EVERYMAN
The Summoning of Everyman: Production

29. Folk Plays
Often performed at such holidays as Christmas, New Year and May Day
Incorporated remnants of pagan rituals
Mummers, Morris Dancers, etc.
Robin Hood was one of the most popular heroes
Feast of Fools: Fool companies consisted of young men, who played gross comedies and created nonsensical and often bawdy travesties on the Mass. These boisterous "Feasts" predate most of the mysteries, and may have been reverent in their origin
Feast of Fools: The third class, the Fool companies, consisted of bands of youths--a sort of under-ground clique--sometimes organized under a secret code, whose chief business it was to play gross comedies and to execute nonsensical and often ribald travesties on the Mass. These companies existed all over Europe and England, and gained immunity for their ribaldry by their popularity, their anonymity, and their audacity. Mantzius says: "They satirized the Mass, turned the church into a ballroom, and the altar into a bar." These boisterous "Feasts" antedate most of the mysteries, and may have been reverent in their origin

30. Mummers

31. Dramatic Techniques
Theatre was performed in found spaces: town squares, taverns, churches, banquet halls -- no specifically designated theatres
Theatre was intimate -- audience interacted with performers
Elaborate special effects
Characterization was often dependent upon costume and makeup

32. Medieval Theatre