engaged columns, each tier being of a different order, as is still to be seen in the remains of the theatre of Marcellus in Rome.[1] The development of the use of the stone arch, and still more the use of concrete for forming vaults, enabled the Eomans to erect their theatres on any site. Those in Rome were placed in the level plain of the Campus Martius.
During the Republican period the erection of permanent theatres with seats for the spectators was thought to savour of Greek luxury and to be unworthy of the stern simplicity of the Roman citizens. Thus in 154 B.C. Scipio Nasica induced the senate to demolish the first stone theatre which had been begun by C. Cassius Longinus (" tanquam inutile et nociturum publicis moribus," Liv., Epit., 48). Even in 55 B.C., when Pompey began the theatre of which remains still exist in Rome, he thought it wise to place a shrine to Venus Victrix at the top of the cavea, as a sort of excuse for having stone seats below it—the seats theoretically serving as steps to reach the temple. This theatre, which was completed in 52 B.C., is spoken of by Vitruvius as "the stone theatre "par excellence: it is said in the Regionary catalogues to have held 40,000 people. It was also used as an amphitheatre for the bloody shows in which the Romans took greater pleasure than in the purer intellectual enjoyment of the drama. At its inauguration 500 lions and 20 elephants were killed by gladiators. Near it two other theatres were erected, one begun by Julius Caesar and finished by Augustus in 13 B.C., under the name of his nephew Marcellus,[2] and another built about the same date by Cornelius Balbus (Suet., Aug., 29; Pliny, H, N., xxxvi. 16). Scanty re mains exist of this last theatre, but the ruins of the theatre of Marcellus are among the most imposing of the buildings of ancient Rome.
A long account is given by Pliny (H. N., xxxvi. 2 and 24) of a most magnificent temporary theatre built by the aedile M. ^Emilius Scaurus in 58 B.C. It is said to have held the incredible number of 80,000 people, and was a work of the most costly splendour. Still less credible is the account which Pliny gives (H. N., xxxvi. 24) of two wooden theatres built by C. Curio in 50 B.C., which were made to revolve on pivots, so that the two together could form an amphitheatre in the afternoon, after having been used as two separate theatres in the morning.
In some cases the Romans built two theatres close together, one for the Greek and the other for the Latin drama, as is the case at Hadrian's magnificent villa near Tivoli. The two theatres at Pompeii are still well pre served, and all Roman provincial towns of any importance seem to have possessed at least one theatre, designed with the semicircular orchestra after the Roman fashion (see fig. 3). The theatres built under the Roman rule in Hellenic cities seem, on the other hand, to have been usually constructed on the old Greek model, probably because they were designed by Greek architects. This is the case at Tauromenium, Aspendus, and Myra see (fig. 1). An important exception to this rule is the still well-preserved theatre of Herodes Atticus, at the south-west angle of the Athenian Acropolis, which has a semicircular orchestra. It was built in the reign of Hadrian by Herodes Atticus,[3] a very wealthy Greek, who spent enormous sums in beautifying the city of Athens; he called it the Regillum, after his wife Regilla. Its cavea, which is excavated in the rock, held about 6000 people; it was connected with the great Dionysiac theatre by a long and lofty porticus or stoa, of which considerable remains still exist, probably a late restoration of the stoa built by Eumenes II. of Pergamum. In the Roman theatre the " orchestra " was occupied, not by the chorus, but by senators and other persons of rank (Vitr., iii. 6).[4] The Romans used scenery and stage effects of more elaboration than was the custom in Greece. Vitruvius (iii. 7) mentions three sorts of movable scenery: (1) for the tragic drama, faades with columns represent ing public buildings; (2) for comic plays, private houses with practicable windows and balconies;[5] and (3) for the satyric drama, rustic scenes, with mountains, caverns, and trees.
The Modern Theatre.—During the Middle Ages miracle plays with sacred scenes were the favourite kind of drama; no special buildings were erected for these, as they were represented either in churches or in temporary booths. In the 16th century the revival of the secular drama, which, in the reign of Elizabeth, formed so im portant a part of the literature of England, was carried on in tents, wooden sheds, or courtyards of inns, mostly by strolling actors of a very low class. It was not till towards the close of the century that a permanent building was constructed and licensed for dramatic representations, under the management of Shakespeare and Burbage.[6] In
- ↑ This design was also adopted for their amphitheatres, such as the colossea of Rome and Capua, the plan of which resembles the cavea of two theatres set together so as to enclose an oval space.
- ↑ According to Livy (xl. 51), the theatre of Marcellus was built on the site of an earlier one erected by Æmilius Lepidus.
- ↑ This theatre was not begun when Pausanias wrote his book Attica, and was complete when he wrote the Achaica (see Paus., vii. 20). It is illustrated in Mon. Inst., vi., plate 16.
- ↑ The pit and stalls in a modern theatre occupy an analogous position.
- ↑ These are shown on Græco-Roman vases of the latest type, with paintings of burlesque parodies of mythological stories.
- ↑ The first building specially erected in London for dramatic purposes was built in 1576-77 by the actor James Burbage, who was originally a carpenter by trade. It was constructed of timber, and stood in Holy well Lane, Shoreditch, till 1598, when it was pulled down; it was known as "The Theatre" par excellence. Of almost equally early date was the Curtain " theatre, also in Shoreditch; many explanations of its name have been given, but the real one appears to be that it was so called from the plot of ground, known as " The Curten," on which it stood. It probably continued in use till the general closing of theatres by order of the parliament in 1642. The "Globe" theatre, famous for its association with Shakespeare, was built by James Burbage, who used the materials of "The Theatre," in the year 1598. Its site was in Southwark, in a district called " The Bankside," near the old "Bear Gardens." It was an octagonal structure of wood, with lath and plaster between the main framework. It was burnt in 1613, rebuilt, and finally pulled down and its site built over in 1644. Its name was derived from its sign of Atlas sup porting the globe. Near it were two less important theatres, "The Rose," opened in 1592 by Henslowe, and "The Swan," opened in 1598 and probably owned also by Henslowe; like the Globe, it was an octagonal wood-and-plaster building. The Blackfriars " theatre, another of the Burbages ventures, was built in 1596 (not 1576, as stated by Collier, Hist, of Dramatic Poetry and Annals of the Stage, new ed., 1879, vol. i. p. 287), near the old Dominican friary. The "Fortune" theatre was built by Edward Alleyn, the great rival of the Burbages, in 1599-1600, at a total cost, including the site, of 1320. It stood between Whitecross Street and Golding Lane. It existed as late as 1819, when a drawing of it was given by Wilkinson (Londina illustrata, 1819). The "Red Bull" theatre was probably originally the galleried court of an inn, which was adapted for dramatic purposes towards the close of Elizabeth's reign. Other early theatres were the "Hope" or "Paris Garden" theatre, the "Whitefriars" and "Salisbury Court" theatres, and the "Newington" theatre. A curious panoramic view of London, engraved by Visscher in 1616, shows the Globe, the Hope, and the Swan theatres. The plan of the first English theatres appears to have had no con nexion with those of classical times, as was the case in Italy: it was evidently produced in an almost accidental way by the early custom of erecting a temporary platform or stage in the middle of the open court yard of an inn, in which the galleries all round the court formed boxes for the chief spectators, while the poorer part of the audience stood in the court on all sides of the central stage. Something similar to this arrangement, unsuitable though it now seems, was reproduced even in buildings, such as the Globe, the Fortune, and the Swan, which were specially designed for the drama. In these and other early theatres there was a central platform for the stage, surrounded by seats except on one side, where there was a "green-room" or
