Medieval Theatre
History of Theatre
900-1500 AD
Modern Perspective
• International in scope and religious in
nature
• Began as a springtime religious
observance
• Celebrated common mythos- the Old and
New Testaments of the Bible
The York Cycle
• Actors would get in
costume and hop on
wagons
• Crowds were gather
in the streets to
watch them pass
• The wagons would
often have two levels
to portray heaven
and hell
The Procession
• The wagons paraded through town, stopping
before the homes of dignitaries
• Each wagon is responsible for the telling of a
biblical tale
• This took place every year on Corpus Christi
Day
• Began with “The Creation and Fall of Lucifer
• Ended with “The Judgment Day”
Corpus Christi Day
• A feast day that celebrates The Last
Supper
• Primarily came about from a nun named
Juliana of Liege
• actual date of Corpus Christi changes
each year
Conditions of Performance
• It was a religious theatre, therefore its
bookings, costumes, dialogue and staging
came from the Church calendar
Background
• After the fall of Rome, and before the
renaissance, the time is called Middle
Ages.
• A very active time as cathedrals were built,
the crusades occurred, and kingdoms
were divided and conquered
• The foundations for modern languages
were laid during this time
Background continued
• The Church was extremely opposed to
any other type of theatre due to the
mimes. They still did exist though.
• The Church developed its own dramatic
ceremonies to combat the appeal of pagan
rights
• Pagans believed in multiple gods. (i.e..
The Ancient Greeks)
Religious and Civic Purposes
• The Church felt dramatized episodes made
moral lessons more graphic and easier to
understand.
• The Church calendar provided several holidays
to develop theatre
• Drama remained inside the Church Walls for 200
years
• The first ever play was called Quen Quaeritis
Quem Quaritis
• 3 women looking to
dress the corpse of
Christ
• Find out from an
angel that Christ has
risen
• Shows grief turning
into joy
Management
• Some major changes began to take place
by 1400
• Short religious plays were put together to
make longer plays
• Were staged during Spring and Summer
• Everyday language replaced Latin
• Regular people replaced clergy as the
actors and producers
Festival Theatre
• The church still had to approve
• Between 1350-1500 Medieval theatre flourished
• Clergy began to reduce its participation
• Towns began to finance and produce the
festivals
• Producers oversaw everything, they got choirs,
nobles loaned costumes, meals were prepared
and lodging was provided. Laborers built the
staging. Basically the whole community helped
Playwriting
• Anonymous
• Clergy wrote the four-line playlets
• Later the dialogue was expanded
• As it became more elaborate, more
playwrights were recruited
• This opened the door for professional
playwrights
Acting and Rehearsing
• Rehearsals took place
over months
• Held between dawn and
beginning of the work
day
• Actors were fined for
lateness, not knowing
lines or being drunk
• Multiple playlets were
rehearsed at the same
time
Actors
• Some received fees
• At first it was to reimburse the actors
• Late 1600’s began to see professional actors
• Very few women performed in medieval plays
• Only exceptions were for female Saints
• There were two reasons: male hierarchy and
trained choir boys had better projection
Visual Elements
Staging
• Were performed on fixed or movable stages
• The fixed stage was usually against buildings on
one side of town square, or in an amphitheatre
• The movable stages were wagons
• Usually broken into three parts from left to right
Hell, Earth, and Heaven
• Nothing was depicted in its entirety. Very little
illusion of a real place.
Special Effects
• Producers gave great attention to “secrets”
• Examples included Hell issuing fire, smoke
and cries of the damned, trapdoors,
pulleys and ropes.
• Due to this we began to see
semiprofessionals begin to develop for
scenery and special effects
Costumes and Props
• Two types of garments: ecclesiastical robes and
everyday clothes
• Accessories such as wings were added
• Props were used to identify characters i.e.
sword, mirror, snakes etc..)
• Heaven reps dressed to awe
• Hell reps dressed to scar
• Common humans dressed according to rank
• Great detail went into designing the devil
Music
• Music was prevalent in medieval theatre
• Heavenly scenes featured beautiful choruses
• Trumpets’ announced god
• Vocal and Instrumental music bridged
intermission.
• Singing was down by choirboys and actors
• Instruments were played by professionals
Popular
Entertainments
Mummings
• Masquerade balls
• Related to drama due to disguise, processions
and need for a spokesperson
• In time it included music, song, dance, scenery,
and texts.
• Usually a mumming play would end with the
collection of money to pay for refreshments and
local charities
Street Pageants
• When dignitaries would come to town they
would set up stages all along the street
• Clerks and children would then address
them with songs and speeches
• This provided a sense of civic pride
The Audience
• Spectators came from surrounding towns and
countryside – all classes came
• Posters were put up on city gates and invitations
were sent out to neighboring towns
• A trumpeter rode through town announcing the
events
• Work was forbidden during performance time
• Most were free, however in some of Europe
there was a fee
