Share

The History Of European Theatre
Cynthia’s Revels: ‘O That Joy So Soon Should Waste’
Episode 196:
The origins of the play written for the court and the Children of the Chaple playing company
Why this type of play is a fit for the child playing troupes
The print history of the play
A brief synopsis of the play
Myth, Satire and Masque - the complexities with getting an understanding of the play
The minor role of plot compared to words and music in the play
The performance style of the boy playing companies compared to the adult companies
The verbal sketching of characters as part of the satiric intent
The play as part of the battle of the poets
Unpicking the satiric portraits in the play
The introduction of the Poetaster
The masque and it’s role in the play
Jonson’s coded support for the Earl of Essex in the play
Early responses to the play and the longer historical view
Link to European Review of History Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/european-review-of-history-podcast/id1695812614
Support the podcast at:
More episodes
View all episodes

1. Trailer
03:52||Ep. 1An introduction to The History Of European Theatre PodcastThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
1. Prologue and Pre History
25:26||Season 1, Ep. 1Episode 1An Introduction to the podcast and your host.Pre-history and how the urge to mimic and present might have been the start of theatre.Religious ritual and Shamanism.The Abydos Passion play and the Egyptian Book of the Dead.The beginning of Greek Theatre.A note on dates and the nature of translations.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
2. Dionysus and the beginning of Greek Theatre
26:53||Season 1, Ep. 2Episode 2An overview of the history of Greece to the 5th Century BCE including Minoan and Mycenaean periods, the Greek dark age and the rise of the city state.The development of the religious festivals and their main featuresAn overview of the main playwrights and their plays:AeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesMenanderThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
3. The Place Of Seeing
31:49||Season 1, Ep. 3Episode 3The vocabulary of the theatre we inherit from the GreeksThe layout of the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens and it's main featuresDevelopments in the theatre over timeThe ChorusStage MachineryMasks and costumeThe judging and prizesThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
4. Aeschylus: The First Tragedies
27:38||Season 1, Ep. 4Episode 4The situation of Athens at the time of the first extant tragedies.The very earliest dramatists and the little we know of themThe life of Aeschylus including his service in the Persian WarsHis earliest surviving play 'The Persians'This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
5. The Oresteia part 1
28:21||Season 1, Ep. 5Episode 5A detailed review of Agamemnon, the first part of The Oresteia trilogy by AeschylusThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
6. The Oresteia part 2
21:55||Season 1, Ep. 6Episode 6A detailed review of The Libation Bearers and Eumenides, the second and third part of The Oresteia trilogy by AeschylusThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
7. Sophocles: That Charming Man
30:44||Season 1, Ep. 7Episode 7The life of Sophocles almost spanned the 5th Century BCE and included events from the defeat of the Persian invasion to the relentless grind of the Peloponnesian wars. We look at his life and times and get an overview of the surviving plays and theatrical innovations the he created.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
8. Antigone: Nomos Vs Physis
27:47||Season 1, Ep. 8Episode 8A detailed look at the first of the Theban plays by Sophocles. Greek drama gets personal as the end of a great family drama is acted out, but it's also a political debate as Sophocles questions what happens when man made law bumps up against natural law.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy