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Theatre History Timeline: Chapter 4

By Scary Monsters
  • Period: 2500 BCE to 550 BCE

    Ancient Egyptian Theatre

    At Abydos, a significant holy site in Egypt, a religious festival of some kind happened annually, though it is unclear how much of it was theatrical in nature (Brockett 63).
  • Period: 600 BCE to 500 BCE

    Oldest Theatre

    The Greeks had the first distinct form of theatre in history. Though it is unclear how it began, the city-state of Athens celebrated four festivals to Dionysus each year, most of which had plays like Oedipus Rex, Antigone, or The Bacchae (Brockett 62-63).
  • 534 BCE

    The First Entirely Theatrical Event

    In Athens a contest for the best tragedy was established, and it was won first by Thespis, the earliest recorded playwright (Brockett 62).
  • 430 BCE

    Oedipus Rex

    Oedipus Rex was produced after the number of unique actors was limited at three per play, but this did not stop Oedipus Rex from being one of the most influential plays in history (Brockett 66).
  • 240 BCE

    Roman Theatre

    As Rome grew, so did its culture, and Rome tried to adopt as many traditions as it could from its conquests. Greek Theatre was a primary target of this cultural imperialism (Brockett 77).
  • 165 BCE

    Roman Comedy

    Roman comedy was very similar to modern musicals in that characters would go out and sing songs themselves, unlike the Greeks. Comedies like The Mother-in-Law or The Menaechmi did not deal with political issues, they dealt with individual, everyday issues (Brockett 79-80).
  • 55 BCE

    Rome's First Permanent Theatre

    The Theatre of Pompey was established after hundreds of years of exclusively non-permanent theaters across Rome (Brockett 79).
  • 354

    Roman Bread and Games

    By 354, 100 days of the Roman calendar were devoted to theatre, while 75 were devoted to chariot races and gladiator fights (Brockett 78).
  • 970

    The First Liturgical Play

    The Quem Quaeritis trope was a short dramatization of the arrival of three women at Jesus' tomb, and it inspired religious theatre for centuries to come (Brockett 86).
  • Period: 1400 to 1550

    Morality Plays

    Morality plays address the tribulations of all humanity. They are inextricably tied with spirituality due to their themes primarily dealing with Christian morality in particular. One of the best examples of this is Pierre Patelin, a story about a lawyer who cheats a merchant (Brockett 97).