Theatrical performances in ancient Rome were very spectacular. For example, in the play "House on the Fire" on the stage, a real house with all its contents was burned down. And what happened if the hero had to die during the play? The actor was replaced by a criminal or a slave, and killed right on stage.
Theater is an unusual phenomenon that in an instant takes you to a mysterious world. What is it, in fact, magic, fantasy, movement in time space? Theater is always a fascinating performance, both for the acting troupe, musical accompaniment, choreographers and for the audience. Living hundreds of roles, feeling a huge number of emotional experiences, everything is transmitted to fans, transferring them to another dimension.
For a long time, it was forbidden in the ancient Roman comedy to show the Roman citizens in a funny way. That is why the Roman comedy portrayed the Greeks and Greek life. So it turned out that the Greeks and Romans showed a touching unanimity: the Greeks laughed at themselves, the Romans also laughed at the Greeks.
In the Roman theater, a curtain appears, which does not rise up and does not part to the sides, as it is now, but falls into a special slot in the floor. In the Greek theater, there was a special position, the rabduh, whose job it was to hit with a stick along the spine of especially furious spectators. One of the theaters in Ionia had a special row for one-armed warriors. A number of bald slaves were planted in front of them, striking their bald heads, the first could applaud.
The great Greek playwright Aeschylus died when a turtle fell from the sky on his bald head. The bald head of the playwright was mistaken for a rock by an eagle flying across the sky, which released a turtle to break its shell and eat its meat.
When, in the battle of the Athenians and the Samians, part of the army came out under the leadership of the playwright Sophocles (such an honor was given to him as a reward for outstanding services to the city), he had to fight the troops led by the Elean philosopher Melissus. The playwright defeated the philosopher.
Promotional video:
The ancient Greek playwright Phrynich once presented at the theater his play The Capture of Miletus, about the destruction of a Greek city by the Persians. She so upset the audience that the whole theater burst into tears; as punishment, the authorities sentenced the poet to a fine of one thousand drachmas and banned the staging of his play.
In the Greek theater there were only three actors, each of whom could play several roles. Sometimes, as a curiosity, a fourth actor appeared - parahoregema (Parahoregamo), who became a "burden of the horega" (this is how his name is translated), since the horega (that is, the sponsor, which was a rich citizen of the city), who was in charge of the production, had an additional responsibility for payment of an extra performer.
In Sophocles' Antigone, plays by Antigone and Creon are sung in different places. How can this be explained, because we know that in the ancient theater only the main actor, called the protagonist, usually sang? Simply in this case, the Greek theater entrusted the protagonist with the performance of the corresponding parts of both roles: first, he played the entire role of Antigone - until her death, and then - in the finale of the play - disguised as Creon, who had previously been played by another actor.
In classical Athens times, watching a theatrical performance of a tragedy was a must for all Athenians, except for slaves. Therefore, the whole city gathered for the performance. The poor were paid compensation for the money they did not earn at that time. When the directors of the performances began to charge entrance fees, the government of Athens also began to pay this money to citizens. But decent women were not allowed to stage comedies, except that getters could be in the theater for the performance of comic works.
All roles in the Greek theater were performed by men. Female actresses appeared later, they were all girls of easy virtue and performed only in mimes (rather obscene scenes of everyday content) and pantomimes.
Greek playwrights, who presented their tragedies on stage, competed with each other. The winning playwright received an ivy wreath as a reward. The winning chorega (the sponsor of the production) could erect a monument to himself, which was never made from nature and on which both the name of the chorege and the name of the playwright were indicated.
Before the performance of tragedies on the orchestra (a round stage like the arena of a modern circus, where performances were given in Greece), piglets were slaughtered and sprinkled with the blood of the audience.
Actors in Greece performed in masks, which could only be changed once - as a result of twists and turns (for example, when Sophocles' king Oedipus turned from seeing into blind).
Philip the Great (father of Alexander the Great) was killed at the local theater.
Already in the 3rd century BC. e. the playwright-comedian Philemon hired claqueters against his rival Menander.
For his jokes against the politician Cleon, the playwright-comedian Aristophanes was beaten by the latter's servants right in the theater.
The Roman playwright Livy Andronicus himself played the main roles in his tragedies. When one day he lost his voice, he began to entrust the performance of all the songs to a special boy standing behind, and he just opened his mouth. This is the first recorded use of a phonogram in history.
In the Roman pantomime, getters participated in transparent tunics, which they threw off themselves in the process. One of these dancers - Theodora - was married to the Emperor Justinian.
In Rome, the so-called mimic hypotheses were popular - extended tragicomic representations, which were written by the famous author Philistion. The most popular storyline was the adventures of the robber Lavreol, who was crucified on the cross at the end of the performance. At the right time, the actor was replaced by some sentenced to death and performed a real execution in front of the audience.
And here are some more entertaining moments
Back in the days of Pushkin, chairs were installed only in the first rows of the theater hall. These places were intended for wealthy and famous gentlemen. Further, there were standing places for commoners and workers. The cost of a ticket to this part of the hall was much lower. There were a lot of people willing to attend premieres and popular performances, so the most inveterate theater lovers came a few hours before the performance in order to take the best standing places. Today, tickets to the theater can be easily purchased, and for any date and anywhere in the world.
- The female cast in the Middle Ages was treated differently than in our time. Almost always, a woman could play the role of a servant or a slave. Such roles were invented as irony and derision. Even wardrobe items and theatrical costumes fit the meaning.
- Today's fashionable serials are not an invention of the 20th century. Even in ancient times, there were performances in Sicily that lasted more than one month. Every day, after the end of the working day, the audience hurried to the theater to see the long-awaited performance. Roland's feud with the Moors was very popular for 8 centuries.
- An interesting fact about the theater is the belief that in no way should you drop the script before the performance. But in case it did happen, you had to sit down on it right away, and it doesn't matter where it fell, into the mud or into the water. After a short sitting, the script must be taken in hand, and only after such procedures could one get up. The entire cast is sure that if all this is not done, then you always need to wait for trouble (the actors will forget the text, or the performance will fail miserably).
- Words such as souffle and prompter are completely different in meaning, but come from the same French word “souffle” (exhale, breath). The soufflé is because it is light as air, and the prompter is due to the fact that all the prompts to the actors should be made quietly and not noticeable from the viewer.
- The phrase "Finita la Comedy" has existed since the days of ancient Rome. All performances ended with this expression.
- The most extraordinary symbolism of the theater is the clock on the front of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater in Moscow. Every 60 minutes, the doors near the dial open and 12 animals can be seen to the tune "Whether in the garden or in the garden".
- In the US state of Virginia, there is a one-of-a-kind "barter" theater, where tickets are purchased not for money, but for all kinds of products.
- There is a theater of cruelty. But it is worth noting that torture and violence are not seen there. There, all performances are built on certain gestures and inarticulate sounds.