Play (theatre)
A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading.
[1] Comedies are plays designed to elicit humor and often feature witty dialogue, eccentric characters, and unusual situations.
Examples of comedies include William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and in the modern day, The Book of Mormon.
An example of a farce is William Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors, or Mark Twain's work Is He Dead?.
Satirical plays provide a comic perspective on contemporary events while also making political or social commentary, often highlighting issues such as corruption.
Restoration comedy is a genre that explores relationships between men and women, often delving into risqué themes for its time.
Nonetheless, contemporary theatre theorists have been increasingly intrigued by restoration comedy as they explore performance styles with unique conventions.
Examples of tragedies include William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and John Webster's play The Duchess of Malfi.
[7] Ballad opera, a popular theatrical style of its time, marked the earliest form of musicals performed in the American colonies.
Modern Western musical theatre gained prominence during the Victorian era, with key structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and Harrigan and Hart in America.
Musicals employ songs to advance the narrative and convey the play's themes, typically accompanied by choreography.
This theatrical style originated in the 1940s when Antonin Artaud hypothesized about the effects of expressing through the body rather than "by socially conditioned thought".
Artaud dismissed the notion that conventional theatre of his era could provide audiences with a cathartic experience that would aid the healing process after World War II.
Prominent playwrights within this genre include Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, Eugène Ionesco, Arthur Adamov, and Jean Genet.
Common stage directions include the entrances and exits of actors, e.g., "[Exeunt Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo.]"
Additional stage directions may dictate how lines should be delivered, such as "[Aside]" or "[Sings]", or specify sounds to be produced off-stage, like "[Thunder]".
