Roman Theatre: Did you mean...?

The 1st century CE Roman theatre at Volterra, Tuscany, Italy.

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) was a Japanese playwright who wrote for both the puppet theatre and kabuki. He is regarded as Japan’s greatest dramatist. Apart from their aesthetic appeal, his plays are of value because they provide an insight...

The Roman Theatre of Arelate (modern-day Arles, France) was built in the first century CE during the reign of Emperor Augustus. During the Middle Ages, its stones were often pillaged to construct nearby buildings. Today, only seating rows...

Greek theatre likely sprang from the lyrical performance of ancient epic poetry and the rituals performed in the worship of the god Dionysos where goats were sacrificed and participants wore masks. From the 6th century BCE, Greek tragedy...

A sketch by Aernout van Buchel showing actors on the stage of the Swan theatre in 1596 CE in London, one of the principal theatres of Elizabethan theatre. (Utrecht University Library, Netherlands)

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium (modern-day St Albans in Great Britain), built in about 140 CE, is unique. Although several towns in Britain are known to have had theatres, this is the only one visible today. It was discovered in 1869, the...

Hadrian’s Villa near Tivoli, Italy, is an opulent, sprawling garden-villa covering some 120 hectares (296 acres). It was built by Emperor Hadrian (76-138 CE) between 125-134 CE for use as his country estate, although the land may have originally...

The Hellenistic Theatre at Dion in Macedon with Mount Olympus in the background. The theatre was built into a natural hill during the 3rd century BCE. It underwent several phases of modification during the reign of Philip V (r. 221-179 BCE...

Part of the sculptural decoration from the Late Roman Bema of Phaedrus, the Theatre of Dionysos, on the slopes of the acropolis of Athens. 4th century CE. (The theatre was orginally constructed in the 6th century BCE). The scenes depict episodes...

The theatre of Delphi and the temple of Apollo below (4th century BCE). The capacity of the theatre was around 5,000 spectators.