A trip to the Roman theatre

"I will not forget madam. May I say you look beautiful madam; your elegant crimson shawl brings out the colour of your luscious red hair. Madam shall we go to the theatre now so that we can get good seats?"

"No Liviana I am a special guest and a seat has been reserved especially for me. You can go now, with the other slaves and slave girls so that you all can get a good seat near the front I will come later with my mother. "

"Thank you Mistress"

"Liviana before you go bring me my metal mirror"

"Of course Mistress"

My mother had often told me how much fun she had when she went to the theatre. Her favourite play writer and actor was Titus Maccius Plautus. She told me about the hilarious comedies with their rude jokes by Titus Maccius Plautus. My mother also liked watching more serious plays. She told me that even though they were only plays, they portrayed life very well, and were very realistic. She told me about one particular play she watched, this was a serious play and at the end of it the main character in the play was murdered by his friend. My mother told me that a man from the audience took the place of the actor -who was going to die- at the last moment and allowed himself to be killed instead of the actor. My mother had told me that the actors in the play were usually slaves, prisoners or freedmen. These actors did not have a very high status when they started acting but soon they became famous and were adored by many fans.

Suddenly I heard my mothers voice.

"I'm coming mother" I shouted back to her.

The weather was typically Italian; very hot and no sign of a cloud anywhere in the clear blue sky. The walk to the theatre was long and difficult.

Outside the main entrance to the theatre there was a hustle and bustle of people all trying to get into the theatre. These people were creating a huge uproar.

I proudly took out my token and handed it to the person standing at the special side entrance, he smiled at my mother and I and then allocated us a seat in the third row. I felt very honoured that I had the privilege of using my token and not having to wait to get into the theatre.

The theatre looked enormous, magnificent and picturesque. It was an open-air theatre in the shape of a semi circle and the stage was elevated so that even the people in the last row were be able to see the actors. Behind the wooden stage there was some beautiful painted scenery.

My father was sitting in the front row so I sat down next to him. The seat, which I was sitting on, was very hot due to the open-air theatre letting in the scorching heat of the sun.

"Rufina dear you cannot sit here." said my father

"Why not? " I asked.

"Rufina this seat has been reserved for a very important town councillor and you are not allowed to sit right at the front of this theatre."

But father why can't the town councillor sit somewhere else?"

"Women are forbidden to sit near the front of the theatre, near the actors, as people think that the women might run off with their favourite actors. Rufina, seats have been reserved for you and your mother in the third row, will you please go and sit in your reserved seat. "

"Yes father"

I felt a little miserable and angry at not being allowed to sit where I wanted, but I soon realised that my dad was going to participate in the local political elections and for this reason he needed to gain popularity, and it would be beneficial for him to sit with the important, well known associates of the town.

My mother and I reluctantly sat in the third row. I was worried that I might not be able to recognise the characters or hear their voices very well but my mother explained that all the actors wore masks so that we would be able to easily recognise them, if the actors were meant to be women their mask would be white and if they were meant to be men they would wear a brown mask. She also explained that a rich man would wear a purple toga and a poor man would wear a red toga. If you were a latecomer then you would have to sit at the back of the theatre, you might not be able to hear very clearly, this was why one actor spoke the lines while another actor mimed them.

Soon the first play started. The play was called The Menaechmi, it was about two twin brothers, Menaechmus and Sosicles who were accidentally separated at the age of seven. The father of the twins took his son, Menaechmus to Tarentum on a business trip. Menaechmus soon became separated from his father, and lost himself in the crowd. Menaechmus was soon found by a wealthy man called Epidamnus, who took Menaechmus to live with him in his house. Meanwhile Menaechmus' father was distraught at the loss of his son and so he decided to change the name of his other son, Sosicles to Menaechmus. When Menaechmus (Sosicles) became older he set out on a six year journey with his slave Messenio to find his twin brother. When Menaechmus (Sosicles) found his brother, he did not realise it. Menaechmus (Sosicles) was mistaken for Menaechmus then the two brothers had a fight with each other. Menaechmus (Sosicles)'s slave Massenio realised that the two brothers were twins, he informed them of this. Menaechmus was very delighted; he auctioned all his property (including his wife) and moved back to Syracuse with his brother.

I found the play funny and interesting but I thought that it was a little complicated and hard to follow, I realised that I had to divert my full attention to the play so that I could fully understand it.

The second production was a pantomime. One performer, who was wearing a mask, mimed and danced the parts of all the characters in the pantomime. Other performers who could not be seen sang the chorus of the songs. The orchestra, which consisted of instruments such as the lyre, double pipes, trumpets and castanets accompanied the singing and dancing. While the performer was miming and dancing the pantomime many cries of admiration could be heard from the spectators.

Between the play and the pantomime there was a break in which attendants came and sprinkled scented water on everyone. During the play it became very hot and so an awning was put over the theatre, this also happened at the gladiatorial shows, which I often attended. I found the play very amusing and interesting. The pantomime was delightful and I was amazed that the pantomime was acted out by one person who performed the mimes and dances of all the characters in the pantomime.

The show ended late in the afternoon and my mother and I found Liviana and all our other slaves and slave girls and then we went back to our villa.

I really enjoyed the play and pantomime. I enjoyed the show at the theatre more than I enjoy the gladiatorial fights at the amphitheatre. I would love to go to the theatre again and watch another play by Titus Maccius Plautus.

Websites

http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/roman.html

http://www.angelfire.com/ut/latiniii/

http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/curriculum/soc_studies/rome/Rome.html

http://www.didaskalia.net/StudyArea/romanstagecraft.html

http://mail.greenwichacademy.org/~John_Howard/myweb/Sixweb/KateL/HOME.HTML

http://www.kidinfo.com/World_History/AncientRome.html

http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Romelife.html#ENTER

http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/plautus003.html

Books

Cambridge Latin Course Book One