The Greek theatre
Section: culture Author: Angela
To reconstruct Greek theatre’s history, we need some sources:
• archeological sources: they were very useful, but there were many changes after 5° century, in particolar during Roman period;
• literary sources: many authors wrote books about theatre; we know the famous Aristotle’s “Poetica” or Vitruvio’s “De architectura”. Unfortunately, we don’t have news after 5° century;
• iconographcal sources: we obtained many news from vase painting, but we don’t know exactly if news are correct, or if they are only legends;
• dramatic books: during ‘70 years we have many information about them.
Oliver Taplin wrote a very important book in 1977 and it was about Eschilo’s plays. The book want to reconstruct, scene by scene, the representation’s way.
Greek theatre was opened and it was set into nature. It had an important structure and some parts:
• quary: it was dug into a natural slopse and here there was the audience. There were some ascending stairs and a gymnastic forum. In the first time, there were politics and Dionysus’s priest;
• orchestra pit: here, there were the choir, and from 5° century, there were here the players;
• side access (“parodoi”): players entered from them;
• scene: during Greek period, it had a vertical structure. They were completely destroyed; at the beginning, structure was mobile and it was composed by a wood hut, which was used also as a dressing room. Then, it will be wooden and with fixed stones.