oil-wells exist, but neither coal nor oil has yet been extracted | Epidaurus). In the scheme of proportions given by Vitruvius,

orchestra, which may be supposed to have been used for the
appearance of actors (e.g. as ghosts) in the orchestra: they do not
exist, however, at Athens or Epidaurus, so that no general argu-
ment can be founded on their remains.
The stage buildings of the earliest Greek theatres have been
destroyed save for the foundations and architectural fragments,
and the interpretation of their remains presents a difficult problem.
Whether built on level ground or (as at Sicyon and elsewhere)
excavated in rock or earth they consisted of a rectangular structure
two stories high, usually with projecting side wings (rapaakivia).
Between these wings was the porkov (stage), which at Athens
and indeed in all early theatres was built of wood, but was after-
wards reconstructed in stone, with a front formed by a row of
columns from 10 to 13 ft. high; its depth varied from 8 to 10 ft.
It has been argued by Dorpfeld that the poσηo was not a
stage, but a background, which could be characterized as a palace,
temple, &c., by means of painted rivaxes set up in the intervals
between the columns, and that throughout the history of the Greek
drama actors as well as chorus performed in the orchestra. This
theory has been supported by arguments drawn from passages of
the classical dramatists, which seem to imply that actors and
chorus were on the same level, and by a priori considerations
regarding the unfitness of so high and narrow a platform, uncon-
nected with the orchestra by stairs (except such temporary wooden
steps as may have left no trace in extant remains), for a stage.
But these arguments are outweighed by the positive testimony of
ancient writers and inscriptions that the actors in the Greek drama
mounted on a platform (ókpißas) which was also called the Xoyefor
(speaking-place), and the description of the Greek theatre by
Vitruvius, who tells us that the λoyctor (Lat. pulpitum) was narrower
than that of the Roman theatre, and was from 10 to 12 ft. high.
Morcover the background afforded by the Hellenistic poona would
have been diminutive in its proportions-it must be remembered
that Greek actors stood some 6 ft. 6 in. high when wearing the
cothurnus and tragic mask-and quite unlike a palace or temple.
They never have more than one doorway in the centre, though
Vitruvius prescribes three, and in some theatres (where the stage-
buildings were partly excavated) there are no rooms at the back
of them, but either virgin rock or earth. We may therefore dis-
miss Dörpfeld's theory: but it is more than probable that the
wooden stage of the 5th century B.C. was much lower than that
of Hellenistic times, when the chorus had either disappeared from
dramatic performances or performed musical interludes uncon-
nected with the action of the play. Horace, in fact, says of
Aeschylus: Aeschylus... modicis instravit pulpita tignis," and
doubtless preserves a fragment of genuine tradition. When chorus
and actors came into contact, wooden steps could be used, and
that such were employed even in the later drama is proved by
the evidence of South Italian vase-paintings which represent the
Phylakes or burlesques popular at Tarentum.

The façade of the ann furnished an architectural background,
and this was supplemented by painted scenery, which, according
to Aristotle, was introduced by Sophocles: Vitruvius, however, tells
us that the first scene-painter, Agatharchus, worked for Aeschylus.
In their days the on was, of course, a mere booth. Changes
of scene were very rare-there are only two in the extant classical
tragedies-and were brought about by the use of revolving prisms
(TepiaxTO). Other appliances used in the Greek drama were the
KKUKλnua, a low platform on rollers which was pushed forward in
order to show an action supposed to take place in the interior of
the axnn (the scene in a Greek play was always laid in the open
air), and the unxar, a crane by which an actor representing a
god could be suspended in mid-air (hence the phrase deus ex machina).
In the upper part of the on was a balcony called the borevia
("second story "), and at the top a narrow platform called the
@coloyeîor, upon which gods supposed to be stationary in heaven
could appear.
Ghosts ascending from the underworld mounted
the xapro kλipakes, whose position is uncertain. The Bpovrelor
was a machine for imitating thunder by means of stones rolled
in metal jars. It is far from certain whether a drop-scene was
used in the classical period of the Greek drama; in later times
and in the Roman theatre a curtain (aidaia, Lat. aulaea, siparium)
was let down into a narrow slit in front of the stage before the
play began and drawn up at the end.

It has been mentioned above that in the later Hellenistic theatres the stage was made broader, lower and deeper, and in the Roman theatre, the principle of whose construction, as explained by Vitruvius, is illustrated by fig. 3, the orchestra is reduced to a semicircle (acd). The line ef is that of the background (scenae frons)

and its limits are those of the cavea or auditorium.

The Romans, by their use of the arch in construction and also of concrete for vaulting, were enabled to erect theatres on level ground, such as the Campus Martius at Rome, where an elaborate structure, usually in three stories of arcades,' took the place of

1 Vitruvius prescribes for the Roman theatre a portico running round the interior of the auditorium on the level of the topmost row of seats; remains of such a portico (or, as at Aspendus, of a series of arcades) can sometimes be traced.

the natural hill-slope of Greek theatres. The Roman theatre buildings were structurally connected, and the orchestra was thus became an organic whole; the auditorium and stageentered from the wings, not by open passages (wapóɔ̃oɩ) as in Greece, but by vaulted corridors. The orchestra was no longer used for the performances (whether dramatic, musical or merely spectacular), but was reserved for senators and other persons of distinction. Hence (as Vitruvius points out) arose the necessity for lowering and enlarging the stage. It is hard to say when this change was made or at what date it was first introduced into Italy (if it did not originate in the west). The larger of the two theatres at Pompeii dates from the Hellenistic period, but was thrice reconstructed, and it is not clear to what date we are to assign the low stage of Roman pattern; possibly it belongs to the earliest period of the Roman colony at Pompeii founded by Sulla (B.C. 80). The theatre of Pompey (see below) is said by Plutarch to have been copied from that of Mytilene, which suggests that the Roman theatre was derived from a late Greek model; and this is made probable by the existence of transitional forms.

theatres with seats for the spectators was thought to savour During the Republican period the erection of permanent 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

ROMAN

FIG. 3.-Diagram showing the principle on which the Roman theatre was planned according to Vitruvius.

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 itthe 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 by Pliny 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, and another built about the same date by Cornelius Balbus (Suet. Aug. 29; Pliny, H. N. ruins of the theatre of Marcellus are among the most imposing xxxvi. 59). Scanty remains exist of this last theatre, but the of the buildings of ancient Rome.

of a most magnificent temporary theatre built by the aedile A long account is given by Pliny (H. N. xxxvi. 5 and 114) M. Aemilius 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. 116) of two wooden theatres built by that the two together could form an amphitheatre in the afterC. Curio in 50 B.C., which were made to revolve on pivots, so noon, after having been used as two separate theatres in the morning.

All Roman provincial towns of any importance possessed at least one theatre: many of these are partly preserved. On estimates the number of spectators at 9000 to 10,000. Huelsen has shown that this statement is exaggerated, and

According to Livy (xl. 51), the theatre of Marcellus was built on the site of an earlier one erected by Aemilius Lepidus.

Pl. II. will be found reproductions of two of the most important | in 1644. Its name was derived from its sign of Atlas supporting -that of Aspendus in Pamphylia, which illustrates the Eastern the globe. Near it were two less important theatres, "The type showing Hellenistic influence, and that of Arausio (Orange) | Rose," opened in 1592 by Henslowe, and "The Swan (see in South Gaul. Covered theatres were sometimes built, whether below), opened in 1598 and partly owned also by Henslowe; on account of climatic conditions (as at Aosta) or more commonly like the Globe, the latter was an octagonal wood-and-plaster for musical performances. These latter were generally called building. The "Blackfriars" theatre, another of the Burbages' Odea (Gr. wielov, a place for singing). The best preserved is ventures, was built in 1596, near the old Dominican friary. The the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, at the south-west angle of the "Fortune" theatre was built by Edward Alleyn, the actor, in Athenian Acropolis, which has a semicircular orchestra. It 1599, at a cost, including the site, of £1320. It stood between was built in the reign of Hadrian by Herodes Atticus,' a very Whitecross Street and Golding Lane. It stood as late as 1819, wealthy Greek, who spent enormous sums in beautifying the when a drawing of it was given by Wilkinson (Londina illustrata, city of Athens, in honour of his wife Regilla. Its cavea, which 1819). The "Red Bull" theatre was probably originally the is excavated in the rock, held about 6000 people; it was con- galleried court of an inn, which was adapted for dramatic purnected with the great Dionysiac theatre by a long and lofty poses towards the close of Elizabeth's reign. Other early porticus or stoa, of which considerable remains still exist, theatres were the "Hope" or "Paris Garden" theatre, the probably a late restoration of the stoa built by Eumenes II. "Whitefriars " and "Salisbury Court" theatres, and the of Pergamum. It was also a common practice to build a small "Newington" theatre. A curious panoramic view of London, covered theatre in the neighbourhood of an open one, where per- engraved by Visscher in 1616, shows the Globe, the Hope and formances might take place in bad weather. We have an example the Swan theatres. of this at Pompeii. 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, façades with columns representing public buildings; (2) for comic plays, private houses with practicable windows and balconies; and (3) for the satyric drama, rustic scenes, with mountains, caverns and trees.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.-By far the fullest account of the Greek theatre is given in Dorpfeld and Reisch, Das griechische Theater (Athens, 1896). Its main thesis is, however, rejected by many archaeologists on the grounds stated above. Puchstein, Die griechische Buhne, endeavours to prove that a stone theatre was built at Athens in the 5th century B.C., and that the proscenium usually supposed to be Hellenistic dates from the time of Lycurgus (above). For English readers the best account of the Greek theatre is to be found in A. E. Haigh's Attic Theatre (3rd ed., revised by A. W. Pickard-Cambridge, 1907), where a bibliography of the voluminous literature of recent times is given. Albert Muller's Lehrbuch der griechischen Buhnenaltertümer (Freiburg, 1886) is indispensable to the student. For the Roman theatre reference may be made to Durm, Baukunst der Romer, ed. 2, pp. 645 ff. (J. H. M.; H. S. J.)

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 important 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.

The first building specially erected in London for dramatic purposes was built in 1576-77 by the actor James Burbage. It was constructed of timber, and stood in Holywell 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; 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 1599. Its site was in Southwark, in the Bankside, near the "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

1 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.

These are shown on Gracco-Roman vases of the latest type, with paintings of burlesque parodies of mythological stories.

The plan of the first English theatres appears to have had no connexion 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 courtyard 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 "tireynge-howse." The upper galleries or boxes completely surrounded the stage, even the space over the green-room being occupied by boxes. This being the arrangement, it is easy to see why the octagonal plan was selected in most cases, though not in all-the Fortune theatre, for example, was square. An interesting specification and contract for the building of the Fortune theatre (see below) is printed by Halliwell-Phillipps (op. cit. infra, p. 164). In all its details the Fortune is specified to be like the Globe, except that it is to be square in plan, and with timbers of heavier scantling. The walls are to be of wood and plaster, the roof tiled, with lead gutters, the stage of oak, with a "shadow" or cover over it, and the "tireynge-howse to have glazed windows. Two sorts of boxes are mentioned, viz., "gentlemen's roomes" and "twoopennie roomes." A woodcut showing this arrangement of the interior is given in a collection of plays edited by Kirkman in 1672. The vexed question of the construction of these theatres has been much discussed in recent years. In 1888 a drawing of the Swan theatre (fig. 4), apparently copied from a rough drawing in a London letter from the traveller Johannes de Witt, was discovered by Dr Karl Gaedertz in a manuscript volume in the Utrecht University library, consisting of the commonplace book of Arend van Buchell (1565-1641). While undoubtedly authentic, and probably broadly accurate, this copied sketch cannot be accepted, however, as giving the regular or typical plan of the contemporary theatre, as in some respects it does not fulfil the known conditions of the stage. What that typical plan was, if (as is probable) one actually existed, has led to much learned conjecture and great difference of opinion as regards the details required by the interpretation of contemporary stage directions on the necessities of the action in contemporary drama. The ingenious reconstruction (fig. 5), drawn by W. H. Godfrey in 1907, of the Fortune theatre, following the builder's specification, appears to approach very nearly to satisfying all the requirements. (See "The Elizabethan Stage," in the Quarterly Review (London), April 1908.)

"

In the 16th and 17th centuries a favourite kind of theatrical representation was in the form of "masques," with processions of grotesquely attired actors and temporary scenic effects of great splendour and mechanical ingenuity. In the reigns of James L

At the end of the 18th century the theatres of San Carlo at Naples, La Scala at Milan, and La Fenice at Venice were the finest in Europe; all these were rebuilt in the 19th century,

and Charles I., Ben Jonson and the architect Inigo Jones worked | Italian ballet; and in the middle of the 17th century the regular together in the production of these "masques," Jonson writing opera was introduced at Paris. the words and Inigo Jones devising the scenic effects, the latter being very costly and complicated, with gorgeous buildings, landscapes, and clouds or mountains, which opened to display mimic deities, thrown into relief by coloured lights. These masques were a form of opera, in which Ben Jonson's words were set to music. Ben Jonson received no more for his libretto than Inigo Jones did for his scenic devices, and was not unnaturally annoyed at the secondary place which he was made to occupy: he therefore revenged himself by writing severe satires on Inigo Jones and the system which placed the literary and mechanical parts of the opera on the same footing. In an autograph MS. which still exists this satirical line occursPainting and carpentry are the soul of masque" (see Cunningham, Life of Inigo Jones, London, 1848).

"

In Italy, during the 16th century, the drama occupied a more important position, and several theatres were erected, professedly on the model of the classic theatre of Vitruvius. One of these, the Teatro Olimpico at Vicenza, still exists; it was designed by Palladio, but was not completed till 1584, four years after his death. It has an architectural scena, with various orders of columns, rows of statues in niches, and the three doors of the classic theatre; but the whole is painted with strong perspective effects which are very unclassical in spirit. Scamozzi, Palladio's pupil, who completed the Teatro Olimpico,

FIG. 4.-Swan Theatre; from Sidney Lee's Life of William
Shakespeare, by permission.

built another pseudo-classical theatre in 1588 at Sabbionetta for
the duke Vespasiano Gonzaga, but this does not now exist.
In France the miracle play developed into the secular drama
rather earlier than in England. In the reign of Louis XI.,
about 1467, the "Brothers of the Passion" had a theatre
which was partly religious and partly satirical. In the 16th
century Catherine de' Medici is said to have spent incredible
sums on the dresses and scenery for the representation of the

FIG. 5.-The Fortune Theatre; restoration of Walter H. Godfrey.

but have been eclipsed by the later theatres of London, Paris, St Petersburg and other great cities of Europe and America, both in size and architectural splendour.

AUTHORITIES.-Much valuable information about the early theatres of London is giver. by Wilkinson, Londina illustrata (1819). in which are engravings of some of them. See also Collier, Hist. of Dramatic Poetry (1879); Halliwell-Phillipps, Life of Shakespeare (1883); R. Lowe, Life of T. Betterton; Malone, History of the Stage (1790), republished by Boswell in 1821; the publications of the New Shakspere Society; the Ninth Report of the Historical MSS. Commission; and a series of articles on early London theatres, by T. F. Ordish, in The Antiquary, vols. xi., xii. and xiv. (1885-86). On the problems connected with the construction of the Eliza bethan theatre, see Dr Cecil Brodmeier, Die Shakespeare-Bühne nach den allen Bühneranweisungen (Weimar, 1904); Dr Paul Mönkemeyer, Prolegomena einer Darstellung der Englischen Volks buhne zur Elizabeth und Stuart Zeit (Leipzig, 1905); Dr Richard Wegener, Die Buhneneinrichtung des Shakespeareschen Theaters nach dem zeitgenossischen drama (Halle, 1907); George F. Reynolds, Some Principles of Elizabethan Staging (Chicago University, 1905); E. K. Chambers," The Stage of the Globe," in vol. x. of the Strat ford Shakespeare (1904): Victor E. Albright, A Typical Shakesperian Stage (New York, 1908). (J. H. M.; H. Ca.)

MODERN STAGE MECHANISM

A movement known as "Stage Reform" originated in Austria about 1880, with the primary object of encouraging the greatest possible imitation of nature in the presentation of opera and drama. The rudiments of art as understood by painters, sculptors, architects and the cultured public of the day were to be applied to the stage, and a true scenic art was to take the place of the nondescript mounting previously given. To facilitate the efforts of the scenic artist, the fullest application of modern science, notably of mechanics and hydraulics, and the introduction of up-to-date methods of lighting were considered essential. The numerous fatal conflagrations which had originated on the stage caused the question of protection from fire to be closely associated with this movement,