Outline the ways in which Theatre has evolved through time.

Essay – Analyse the ways theatre has evolved through time. Close analysis of three plays from three different time periods should be included to show evidence of these trends.


Theatre is like a child. Just as a child grows and is shaped by its environment, so too the theatre has evolved due to the culture and influences of society.

The 3 texts that I have chosen to illustrate this are: Oedipus the King, Pygmalion and The Crucible.

These texts illustrate the reply of playwrights of the day responding to the changing social fabric of society. We can see this in the following aspects:

the reasons for production of the plays
the culture that surrounds them(including Language, human nature and social structures, and
the role of the texts and the way in which they reflected the time.


The reasons for people going to the theatre and producing plays has changed considerably over time. We can see evidence of this in the three plays.

Oedipus: O...