Theatre Links Site Directory

Styles

• 100 Essential Theatre of the Oppressed Resources
  The Theatre of the Oppressed is a participatory form of theatre developed by Brazilian drama theorist, political activist and theatre practitioner Augusto Boal. Originally developed to give poor and disenfranchised communities a more powerful voice, it soon grew into an international theatre movement. Importantly, it is a form of rehearsed theatre for non-actors. Multiple subsets…
• 15 Theatre of the Absurd Reference Materials
  The Theatre of the Absurd began in Paris in the early 1950s with a number of European playwrights. Influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre’s notion of existentialism, Absurdist plays commonly consisted of illogical dialogue, cyclical plots that ended where they began, characters who lacked motivation, and a strong sense of timelessness. Most of the conventional rules of theatre were deliberately, sometimes shockingly broken. The existential view of man’s meaningless existence out of harmony with the world (in essence, “absurd”) was visibly portrayed in works of the movement, most notably in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1953). 
• 1960s Guerrilla Theatre: Fascinating Resources from the Decade of Protests
  Guerrilla theatre is a form of theatrical protest popularised in America in the 1960s by the San Fransisco Mime Troupe. Commedia dell’Arte and satire were actually the group’s principal modes of performance, not mime. At its purest, guerrilla theatre was left-wing political activism in the form of avant-garde performance in non-traditional spaces such as public parks and sidewalks.
• 20 Crazy Melodrama Resources
  Melodrama, derived from the Greek “melos” (music) and the French “drame” (drama), was a form of theatrical entertainment popular in Europe and America from the late 1700s to the early 1900s. While melodramatic plots were often romantic depictions of everyday life showcasing heightened emotions (stemming from earlier sentimental dramas), the staging of these was nothing short of spectacular. Characters were usually archetypal figures such as villains, victims and heroes.
• 25 Convenient Kitchen Sink Drama Resources
  Kitchen sink drama, also known as kitchen sink realism, emerged on the British stage in the mid-1950s in stark contrast to the middle and upper class drawing room dramas that preceded it. For the first time, characters were everyday working class people portraying the mundane banality of life, mostly set in poor industrial towns in…
• 25 Important Bunraku Teaching Resources
  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.
• 30 Intriguing Theatre of Cruelty Resources
  Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) was a French dramatist, poet, actor and theoretician who rejected Western theatre’s reliance on the spoken word, instead advocating an experimental theatre influenced by the East where ritualistic movement, stylised gestures and signals became paramount. Artaud’s physical theatre of cruelty was performed in non-traditional spaces with a weakened audience positioned at its…
• 30 Provocative Living Newspaper Resources
  A living newspaper is a theatrical form in which social issues and current events are dramatised in order to prompt action. Living newspapers typically have elements of social activism, documentary theatre, left-wing political theatre, verbatim theatre and agitated propaganda (agitprop). Living newspapers were first used in the Russian Cvil War, where pro-Soviet daily newspapers were…
• 45 Inspirational Epic Theatre Resources for Students and Teachers
  Epic theatre began in Germany in the early 20th century with Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht. Working independently and together on a number of projects during the 1920s, mostly in Berlin, both practitioners developed their own brand of this radical new theatre form. Largely anti-realistic in style, epic theatre aimed to politically educate the German…
• 50 Hilarious Slapstick Resources
  While the origins of slapstick humour are most commonly associated with the highly physical Italian Commedia dell’Arte in the 16th to 18th centuries, there is evidence of the form existing earlier in Roman Atellan farces. The wooden paddle used to whack characters in Commedia dell’Arte performances became the name for this form of comedy. Its…
• 75 Absorbing Poor Theatre Resources
  Polish theorist and practitioner Jerzy Grotowski (1933–1999) is today best known for his poor theatre form, The Laboratory Theatre and tiny Theatre of 13 Rows in regional Poland. But his poor theatre concept and practice was just one of many phases in a career spanning four decades. Much of Grotowski’s work with actors was never…
• Auto Sacramental
  Autos sacramentales (Spanish auto, “act” or “ordinance”; sacramental, “sacramental, pertaining to a sacrament”) are a form of dramatic literature which is peculiar to Spain, though in some respects similar in character to the old Morality plays of England. The auto sacramental may be defined as a dramatic representation of the mystery of the Eucharist. At…
• Collage Drama: 13 Great Playbuilding Resources for Students and Teachers
  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.
• Comedy of Humours: A Not So Funny Collection of Resources
  Comedy of humours is an historical form of comedy linked to Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson in such works as Everyman in His Humour (1598) and Everyman out of His Humour (1599). It is based on the premise that the human body consists of four liquids – blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile – all representing a different type of humour (or temperament). This in turn affected character behaviour in the drama.
• Fantastic Magical Realism Resources for the Theatre
  Magical realism (sometimes referred to as magic realism) is a term first used in the art world by German critic Franz Roh (1925) and later in literature by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier (1949). Characteristics of the genre typically include the coexistence of the real and the fantastical, the natural and the supernatural, the normal and magical worlds. In magical realism, elements of fantasy are accepted.
• Fun Jukebox Musical Resources for Theatre Buffs
  A jukebox musical is a musical theatre work centring on a collection of songs, usually by a single artist or group, and typically part of a back catalogue. The plot is often created around the story of the songs. While this technique has attracted criticism by some, the shows are often blockbusters such as Mamma Mia! (ABBA), Jersey Boys (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical .
• Futurism: 20 Powerful Theatre Resources for the Intelligentsia
  The Futurism movement began in Italy in 1909 with Filippo Marinetti and The Futurist Synthetic Theatre Manifesto. Futurist performance evenings, known as ‘serate’, were a mixture of poetry readings, visual art displays, performed plays and most important of all, manifesto readings. The Futurist play was often frighteningly short (sometimes only a moment or two in duration).
• Interesting Collection of Black Comedy Resources
  Black comedy, also known as black humour and dark comedy, traditionally mocks serious subject matter. Topics can range from politics to religion and even death (gallows humour). By its very nature, black comedy will entertain some while offending others. The term in its current use was coined by André Breton, the main theoretician of the…
• Meyerhold’s Biomechanics: 50 Critical Resources
  Biomechanics for the Theatre Vsevolod Meyerhold Comprehensive biography of Vsevolod Meyerhold and his career in the theatre as an actor and director. Meyerhold biography accompanied by a few simple biomechanics exercises suitable for students. Excellent biography of Vsevelolod Meyerhold with detailed accounts of his career and productions. Detailed biography of Meyerhold and his achievements in…
• Naturalism: 25 Useful Theatre Resources
  The naturalistic theatre movement emerged in the mid 19th century and was first introduced by French novelist, critic and playwright Emile Zola in the preface to his novel Thérèse Raquin (1867), which the author later adapted into a stage play (first performed in 1873). Naturalism demanded a slice of life authenticity in every aspect of production and is not to be confused with realism.
• Parody
  A parody (also called spoof, send-up or lampoon), in use, is an imitative work created to imitate, or comment on and trivialize an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Dallas Baptist University Excellent explanation of the ingredients of Parody in the theatre, offering examples…
• Physical Theatre: 25 Fun Resources for the Classroom
  Physical theatre is a broad term encompassing works with elements of movement, dance, mime, acrobatics, dance-theatre, clowning, stylised actions and gestures, circus, mask, and more. While recognised as a form on its own, physical theatre can also involve aspects of other recognised styles such as Commedia dell’Arte, performance poetry, cabaret, musical theatre and more. Critical…
• Political Theatre: 35 Bold Educational Resources
  Arguably all theatre is political, as playwrights compose from a particular point of view and the theatre they create depicts a time, place and society affected by given circumstances. Western theatre that is notably political began with the satires of Aristophanes in Ancient Greece. The modern movement was forged in Germany from the 1920s by…
• Rare Atellan Farce Resources
  Atellan farce, or Atellanae fabulae, was improvisational comic drama in Roman times originating in the town of Atella. As with its modern counterpart, this was a form of low comedy aimed at entertaining the masses. The characters in Atellan farce each had their own mask and costume, similar to the stock characters of the Commedia dell’Arte centuries later. Atellan farce existed for over 500 years, eventually losing popularity around 200 A.D.
• Realism: 15 Helpful Theatre Resources for Students
  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.
• Resources for Theatre’s Problem Play
  The problem play, or play of ideas, contains strong characterisation and topical social issues. The genre is typically thought to have reached its maturity in the late 1800s with some of the works of Henrik Ibsen such as A Doll’s House (1879), Ghosts (1882), and An Enemy of the People (1882). These realistic social dramas frankly portrayed current social issues on the stage.
• The History of Music Hall: 30 Wonderful Resources
  Music hall refers to a genre of entertainment and the venue in which performances took place. Its origins lie in 1850s England where it began as a physical expansion of the tavern. As alcohol was banned in mainstream theatres but permitted in music halls, many tavern owners built a music hall annex. Shows consisted of…
• The Mysterious Interlude of Medieval and Tudor Drama
  An interlude was typically a short dramatic piece, often comic in nature, placed between more serious material. It began during the Middle Ages as a form of lighthearted stuffing (hence interlude) between miracle and morality plays. These were typically short satires or farces. There is even evidence of interludes being used as propaganda in times…
• Vaudeville: 25 Fascinating Teaching Resources
  Vaudeville arrived in America in the 1880s and became a hugely popular form of cultural entertainment for the next fifty years. Consisting of a series of short, non-related acts on a single bill, vaudeville’s eclectic list of variety performances involved anything from live animals, jugglers, magicians and singers to comedians, dancers, clowns, and female and male impersonators. The form gradually died out due to the competing medium of motion pictures. This page contains a collection of curated resources on the history and characteristics of vaudeville.
• What is a Closet Drama? 20 Useful Resources
  A closet drama is a work intended from the outset to be read and not performed. Readings typically occur in isolation or aloud in small groups. While there is evidence from classical times of works most likely intended for private readings, the genre was firmly established in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, and again gaining popularity…
• What Makes a Great History Play? Shakespeare Wrote 10 of Them!
  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.
• Whodunit: Mysterious Crime Resources for Drama Students
  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.