Clarke, Jessica; (2024) The development of theatre in Italy, c. 325 BCE - 50 CE. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Jessica Clarke_Doctoral Thesis.pdf - Other Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 August 2025. Download (42MB)

Abstract

‘Roman theatre’ is a term often used by scholars to describe the theatre in Italy during the third and second centuries BCE. Plautus and Terence are often referred to as ‘Roman playwrights’ and the theatrical conventions which emerged to distinguish the palliata from Greek New Comedy are defined as being characteristic of ‘Roman theatre.’ The thesis aims to re-examine this prevalent scholarly viewpoint and suggests that it was not until the collapse of the late Republic and the beginning of the early Empire that a form of theatre which can be called ‘Roman’ emerged in Italy. It was from this period that we can see the theatre come under the direct control of Rome and take on characteristics which were moulded by the socio-political hierarchies of the early Imperial period. Before this period, the theatre is better described as ‘Italian’ theatre, which spread from the Greek South of the peninsula at the end of the third century BCE. This theatre became embedded in the geographically diverse regions of Italy without the noticeable involvement of Rome during the second century BCE. These arguments are based on an investigation of the extant archaeological record, which is prolific and greatly under-valued by current scholarship. Using this material, which has been critically recompiled and made open access as a searchable online resource, we can track the spread of theatre buildings and theatrical visual culture across Italy over the longue durée and suggest new interpretations which nuance the conclusions drawn from the textual record. The thesis therefore adopts an interdisciplinary methodology drawn from archaeology, history, and digital humanities and seeks to redefine our understanding of theatre’s development in the Italian peninsula between the fourth century BCE and the first century CE.

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