Shakespeare's Theater: Origins and Evolution
What do Shakespeare, trick-or-treating, cosplay parties, Christmas pageants, and Mardi Gras have in common? Find out in this video, which traces the origins of English theater in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods (c. 1560-1620) to both popular and elite forms of theatrical entertainment in the ancient Greek and Roman world and medieval Western Europe. For a deeper dive into this and relate topics in theater history and performance studies, check out @TheTheatreHistoryProfessor !
Table of Contents:
00:00 - Introduction
01:13 - Overview: Sources of English Theater
02:44 - Morality Plays
07:23 - Mystery or Miracle Plays
08:55 - Mummer's Shows
09:53 - Commedia dell'arte
11:16 - Ancient Greek and Roman Theater
14:09 - Court Masques
15:50 - Traveling Players & Wandering Troupes
19:09 - The Globe, The Rose, The Swan
21:07 - Conclusion