Drama was introduced to England from Europe by the Romans, and auditoriums were constructed across the country for this purpose. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial An auditorium (plural auditoriums, or less commonly auditoria) is the area within a theatre, Concert hall, or other performance space where the By the medieval period, the mummers' plays had developed, a form of early street theatre associated with the Morris dance, concentrating on themes such as Saint George and the Dragon and Robin Hood. A morris dance is a form of English Folk dance usually accompanied by music In Christian hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox European dragons are Legendary creatures in Folklore and Mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. Robin Hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore, whose story originates from medieval times but who remains significant in popular culture where These were folk tales re-telling old stories, and the actors travelled from town to town performing these for their audiences in return for money and hospitality. History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works The medieval mystery plays and morality plays, which dealt with Christian themes, were performed at religious festivals. Mystery plays and Miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in Medieval Europe. Morality Play is a detective story by Barry Unsworth, a Man Booker Prize -winning author for his book Sacred Hunger Published in 1996 by

Renaissance and Elizabethan periods

William Shakespeare, chief figure of the English Renaissance, is here seen in the Chandos portrait. The "Chandos" portrait is one of the most famous of the portraits that may depict William Shakespeare ( 1564 &ndash 1616)

The period known as the English Renaissance, approximately 1500—1660, saw a flowering of the drama and all the arts. The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century The most famous example of the morality play, Everyman, and the two candidates for the earliest comedy in English Nicholas Udall's Ralph Roister Doister and the anonymous Gammer Gurton's Needle, all belong to the 16th century. Everyman (German Jedermann) is a late 15th century English Morality play, There is a similar Nicholas Udall (1504 &ndash December 23, 1556) was an British playwright and schoolmaster the author of Ralph Roister Doister Ralph Roister Doister is a comic play by Nicholas Udall, generally regarded as the first Comedy to be written in the English language. Gammer Gurton's Needle is one of the earliest comedies written in the English language.

During the reign of Elizabeth I in the late 16th and early 17th century, a London-centred culture that was both courtly and popular produced great poetry and drama. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its Perhaps the most famous playwright in the world, William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon, wrote plays that are still performed in theatres across the world to this day. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. William Shakespeare ( baptised Stratford-upon-Avon (ˌstrætfɚd əpɒn ˈɛɪvən is a Market town and Civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. He was himself an actor and deeply involved in the running of the theatre company that performed his plays. Other important playwrights of this period include Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and John Webster. Benjamin Jonson ( c 11 June 1572 &ndash 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance Dramatist John Webster (c 1580 &ndash c 1634 was an English Jacobean Dramatist, and a late contemporary of William Shakespeare. Various types of plays were popular. Ben Jonson, for example, was often engaged to write courtly masques, ornate plays where the actors wore masks. The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe though it was developed earlier in Italy A mask is an artefact normally worn on the face typically for protection concealment performance or amusement The three types that seem most often studied today are the histories, the comedies, and the tragedies. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Most playwrights tended to specialise in one or another of these, but Shakespeare is remarkable in that he produced all three types. His 38 plays include tragedies such as Hamlet (1603), Othello (1604), and King Lear (1605); comedies such as A Midsummer Night's Dream (1594—96) and Twelfth Night (1602); and history plays such as Henry IV, part 1—2. Hamlet is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601 King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606 and is considered one of his greatest works A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from Twelfth Night Or What You Will is a Comedy by William Shakespeare, based on the Short story "Of Apolonius and Silla" by Henry IV Part 1 is a History play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597 Some have hypothesized that the English Renaissance paved the way for the sudden dominance of drama in English society, arguing that the questioning mode popular during this time was best served by the competing characters in the plays of the Elizabethan dramatists.

17th and 18th centuries

Aphra Behn was the first professional English woman playwright.

During the Interregnum 1649—1660, English theatres were kept closed by the Puritans for religious and ideological reasons. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, When the London theatres opened again with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, they flourished under the personal interest and support of Charles II. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Wide and socially mixed audiences were attracted by topical writing and by the introduction of the first professional actresses (in Shakespeare's time, all female roles had been played by boys). New genres of the Restoration were heroic drama, pathetic drama, and Restoration comedy. A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set Heroic drama is a type of play popular during the Restoration era in England, distinguished by both its verse structure and its subject matter The term she-tragedy refers to a vogue in the late 17th and early 18th centuries for tragic plays focused on the sufferings of an innocent and virtuous woman Restoration comedy is the name given to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 Notable heroic tragedies of this period include John Dryden's All for Love (1677) and (Aureng-Zebe) (1675), and Thomas Otway's Venice Preserved (1682). John Dryden (– was an influential English poet Literary critic, Translator and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England All for Love or the World Well Lost is a Heroic drama by John Dryden written in 1677. Thomas Otway ( March 3, 1652 – April 14, 1685) was an English Dramatist of the Restoration period Venice Preserv'd is an English Restoration play written by Thomas Otway, and the most significant Tragedy of the English stage in The Restoration plays that have best retained the interest of producers and audiences today are the comedies, such as George Etherege's The Man of Mode (1676), William Wycherley's The Country Wife (1676), John Vanbrugh's The Relapse (1696), and William Congreve's The Way of the World (1700). Sir George Etherege (1635? Maidenhead, Berkshire &ndashc May 10, 1692, Paris) was an English Dramatist. The Man of Mode is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege, written in 1676 and first performed March 2 of the same year William Wycherley ( c 1640 – 31 December 1715) was an English Dramatist of the Restoration period The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. Sir John Vanbrugh (pronounced "Van'-bru" (24 January 1664? – 26 March 1726 was an English Architect and Dramatist, perhaps best known The Relapse or Virtue in Danger is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh. William Congreve ( 24 January 1670 &ndash 19 January 1729) was an English Playwright and Poet. The Way of the World is a play written by British Playwright William Congreve. This period saw the first professional woman playwright, Aphra Behn, author of many comedies including The Rover (1677). The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers is a play in two parts written by the English author Aphra Behn. Restoration comedy is famous or notorious for its sexual explicitness, a quality encouraged by Charles II (1660–1685) personally and by the rakish aristocratic ethos of his court. Generally speaking human sexuality is how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. A rake is defined as a man habituated to immoral conduct Rakes are frequently Stock characters in novels Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations A court is a forum used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labour administrative and criminal Justice under its

In the 18th century, the highbrow and provocative Restoration comedy lost favour, to be replaced by sentimental comedy, domestic tragedy such as George Lillo's The London Merchant (1731), and by an overwhelming interest in Italian opera. In English drama, a domestic tragedy is a play in which the tragic protagonists are ordinary middle-class or lower-class individuals George Lillo ( February 4 1693 - September 4 1739) was a British Playwright and tragedian The London Merchant (Or The Story Of George Barnwell is playwright George Lillo 's most famous work Year 1731 ( MDCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Popular entertainment became more dominant in this period than ever before. Fair-booth burlesque and musical entertainment, the ancestors of the English music hall, flourished at the expense of legitimate English drama, which went into a long period of decline. Burlesque is theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor which usually consists of comic skits (and sometimes a strip tease) Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 By the early 19th century, the drama was no longer represented by stage plays at all, but by closet drama, plays written to be privately read in a "closet" (a small domestic room). A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage but read by a solitary reader or sometimes out loud in a small group perhaps in a small room called

Victorian era and later

A change came in the Victorian era with a profusion on the London stage of farces, musical burlesques, extravaganzas and comic operas that competed with Shakespeare productions and serious drama by the likes of James Planché and Thomas William Robertson. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities A farce is a Comedy written for the stage or film which aims to Entertain the audience by means of unlikely extravagant and improbable situations disguise and mistaken Burlesque is a genre of entertainment also known as Travesty. Extravaganza refers to a literary or musical work (often Musical theatre) characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending William Shakespeare ( baptised James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796–30 May 1880 was a British Dramatist Antiquary and Officer of arms. Thomas William Robertson ( 9 January 1829 – 3 February 1871) usually known professionally as T In 1855, the German Reed Entertainments began a process of elevating the level of (formerly risqué) musical theatre in Britain that culminated in the famous series of comic operas by Gilbert and Sullivan and were followed by the 1890s with the first Edwardian musical comedies. German Reed Entertainment was founded in 1855 and operated by Thomas German Reed (1817&ndash1888 together with his wife Priscilla Reed née Horton (1818&ndash1895 Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W Edwardian Musical Comedies are those British Musical theatre shows from the period between the 1890s when Gilbert and Sullivan began to lose their dominance to the W. S. Gilbert and Oscar Wilde were leading poets and dramatists of the late Victorian period. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 &ndash 29 May 1911 was an English Dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900 was an Irish Playwright, Novelist, poet and Author of ^[1] Wilde's plays, in particular, stand apart from the many now forgotten plays of Victorian times and have a much closer relationship to those of the Edwardian dramatists such as Irishman George Bernard Shaw and Norwegian Henrik Ibsen. Class and society Socially the Edwardian era was a period during which the British Class system was very rigid George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. "Ibsen" redirects here For other people named Ibsen see Ibsen (disambiguation.

The length of runs in the theatre changed rapidly during the Victorian period. As transportation improved, poverty in London diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night, the number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. The first play to achieve 500 consecutive performances was the London comedy Our Boys, opening in 1875. Our Boys is a Comedy in three acts written by Henry James Byron, first performed in London in January 1875 at the Vaudeville Its astonishing new record of 1,362 performances was bested in 1892 by Charley's Aunt. Charley's Aunt is a Farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. ^[2] Several of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas broke the 500-performance barrier, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, and Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson's 1886 hit, Dorothy, ran for 931 performances. Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending HMS Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor, is a Comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and Libretto by Alfred Cellier (1 December 1844&ndash28 December 1891 was an English composer orchestrator and conductor Benjamin Charles Stephenson, or B C Stephenson, (1839 &ndash January 22 1906) was a Dramatist, lyricist and Librettist in Dorothy is a Comic opera in three acts with music by Alfred Cellier and a libretto by B

Edwardian musical comedy held the London stage (together with foreign operetta imports) until World War I and was then supplanted by increasingly popular American musical theatre and comedies by Noel Coward, Ivor Novello and their contemporaries. Edwardian Musical Comedies are those British Musical theatre shows from the period between the 1890s when Gilbert and Sullivan began to lose their dominance to the World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Sir Noël Peirce Coward ( 16 December 1899 26 March 1973) was an English Actor, Playwright David Ivor Davies (15 January 1893 &ndash 6 March 1951 better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh Composer, Singer and Actor, who The motion picture mounted a challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only a limited challenge to theatre. But by the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer could be presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if the cinema would replace live theatre altogether. The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American Musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized Dialogue Some dramatists wrote for the new medium, but playwriting continued.

Postmodernism had a profound effect on English drama in the latter half of the 20th Century. This can be seen particularly in the work of Samuel Beckett (most notably in Waiting for Godot), who in turn influenced writers such as Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard. Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989 was an Irish Writer, Dramatist and poet Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters wait for someone named Godot who never arrives Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE (born 3 July 1937 is a British Screenwriter playwright

Today the West End of London has a large number of theatres, particularly centred around Shaftesbury Avenue. The West End of London is an area of Central London, England, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions businesses headquarters and the commercial For the racehorse see Shaftesbury Avenue (horse Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in London, England, A prolific writer of music for musicals of the 20th century, Andrew Lloyd Webber, has dominated the West End for a number of years, and his works have travelled to Broadway in New York and around the world, as well as being turned into film. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Andrew Lloyd Webber Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948 is a British Composer of Musical theatre, the elder son of William Lloyd Webber Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous

The Royal Shakespeare Company operates out of Stratford-upon-Avon, producing mainly but not exclusively Shakespeare's plays. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC is a British Theatre company

See also

• English literature
• Irish theatre
• Mummers Play

Notes

External links

• Patrons and Performances, Records of Early English Drama