Transcript Medieval Theatre

Medieval Theatre
Drama 1
Fall 2003
Drama in the Middle Ages
The rise of the Christian Church was the
civilizing force of the early Middle Ages.
The Dark Ages (400-900AD)—theatre was
almost nonexistent but was kept alive by
wandering actors.
From 900-1000AD most of Western Europe
was divided into Feudal States ruled by
powerful lords.
Liturgical Drama
Drama was introduced
into the church as a
teaching tool.
Theatre was added
into the body of the
Mass in short, four
line playlets called
tropes
The oldest trope:
Angels: Whom seek
ye in the tomb, O
Christians?
Maries: Jesus of
Nazareth, the
Crucified, Heavenly
Beings
Angels: He is not
here; he is risen as he
foretold.
Angels: Go and
announce that he is
risen from the tomb.
Church plays
The crucifixion was rarely dramatized.
The only two crucifixion plays are
contained in the Carmina Burana, a 13th
century manuscript.
When religious plays were performed
outside of the church, they were translated
into the vernacular (common language).
Three forms of church drama
Miracle plays—about the life of saints
Morality plays—Characters represent
things such as “Fellowship” and “Death.”
The best known morality play is Everyman.
Mystery plays—Usually a cycle play such
as those of York or Chester.
Cycle Plays
In a cycle play (a mystery), the first part in
a series would be played in the first town.
The group would then travel to the second
town and play the first part. After going to
all the towns, they would return to the first
where they would perform the second part.
This would continue until the cycle was
complete.
Ariel view of a passion play
The Staging of Liturgical Dramas
Towards the end of the Middle Ages (13001500AD), religious plays began to be
performed outside of the church.
The playing area would have two basic
components
Small scenic structures called mansions
A generalized playing area called the platea
The performers would move from one
mansion to the next as the action of the play
demanded and live music was played as
they moved.
Medieval Theatre photos
Wagons and Mansions
The stages were either fixed or moveable.
The moveable stages were known as
wagons.
Each wagon would house 1-3 mansions on
it.
The most common mansions were
representative of Heaven (usually elevated
and gilded) and Hell (usually depicted as an
open mouth through which characters could
exit and enter).
A medieval mansion
Secrets
They used a system of flies (ropes, pulleys,
and batons) to suspend props or even actors
above the floor.
Flying and trap doors were common.
Wine barrels of water were put on the roofs
of nearby houses to provide “rain” for
Noah’s Arc.
Effigies were used for scenes of torture and
death.
All special effects were called secrets.
The hellmouth
Medieval Costumes
Most characters
dressed in garments
resembling those worn
by their medieval
counterparts (a priest
would dress like a
medieval priest, etc)
Supernatural
characters wore
masks.
If associated with
Heaven, the masks
were gilded.
Devils were made to
look like birds of prey,
monsters with animal
heads or creatures
with scales, tails,
horns, or claws.
Characters from Everyman