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Whodunit: Mysterious Crime Resources for Drama Students

by Justin Cash | Jul 10, 2021 | Styles

Often considered a sub-genre of the crime and mystery genres, the whodunit play is a thrilling plot-driven detective story. Suspenseful throughout, the aim of a whodunit is to discover who committed the murder? The audience normally witnesses the perfect crime, while suspects are then wrongly accused. Agatha Christie’s whodunit The Mousetrap ran continuously on London’s West End from 1952 to 2020, making it the longest first run of any play in history. J. B . Priestley’s play An Inspector Calls (1945) is another fine example of the genre.

25 Important Bunraku Teaching Resources

by Justin Cash | May 22, 2021 | Styles

Bunraku is a traditional Japanese art form involving puppets, music and narration. Bunraku first came to prominence in the 17th century and continues to be performed today. Puppet dolls typically measure two to four feet high and are manipulated by puppeteers visible to the audience. A small shamisen (three-stringed Japanase lute) provides musical accompaniment during performances along with the narrator (tayu) who voices the puppets as well as chants.

Realism: Academic Theatre Resources for Students

by Justin Cash | May 16, 2021 | Styles

Realism as a theatre movement emerged in Europe in the latter part of the 19th century. As a genuine theatre style, realism was a reaction against romanticism and the sensationalism of melodrama which dominated the stages of Europe and America for much of the 1800s. The realistic movement continues to influence theatre to this day.

What Makes a Great History Play? Shakespeare Wrote 10 of Them!

by Justin Cash | May 9, 2021 | Styles

A history play, also known as a chronicle play, is a dramatic work where the events of the plot are either partially or entirely drawn from history. It is also considered a theatrical genre. William Shakespeare wrote ten of these plays, each loosely based on an English monarch and the period in which he reigned. Importantly, these plays remain works of fiction, whether based on an historical figure or not.

Roman Theatre: 20 Useful Student Resources

by Justin Cash | May 6, 2021 | History

Roman theatre is said to have begun around 240 B.C. Most Roman dramas were translations or imitations of Greek plays. While broader forms of entertainment such as athletic events, music, dance and chariot races played a pivotal role in Roman life, theatrical forms included mime and farce, with comedy being more popular than tragedy. Only some of the comedies of Plautus and Terence survive today, yet no tragic works have survived. Like the Greeks before them, the Romans performed plays at religious festivals in honour of their Gods. Roman theatres were huge architectural structures, of which several exist to this day.

Collage Drama: 13 Great Playbuilding Resources for Students and Teachers

by Justin Cash | May 2, 2021 | Styles

Collage drama normally involves original improvised material, group-devised through the act of playbuilding. The form often includes a number of different performance styles deliberately juxtaposing against each other. The narrative of collage drama is usually episodic, consisting of various scenes linked only by a common theme such as the environment, peer pressure, body image, or global warming. Collage drama is regularly used in the classroom and can exist purely as a process for learning or extend through to performance, if desired. This page consists of a number of playbuilding and collage drama resources for students and teachers.