The Evolution of Theatrical Genres

Theatre, like any art form, is a reflection of us; its writers, its watchers, the society in which it exists. And though such reflections change and evolve over time (hitherto, most of us would have been refused admission into Shakespeare’s Globe on account of our lack of land ownership, or likely ejected from the Theatre of Delphi for scandalously refusing to lob a plum at an actor we didn’t like) we’re connected to playwrights and theatregoers throughout history by one, surprisingly enduring, aspect: theatrical genre.

While the specifics of staging, style, and audience expectations have changed dramatically, the essential elements that define theatrical genres remain remarkably constant. In fact, as scholarship from Escuela Universitaria de Artes points out,

“The new approaches around the characterization of theatrical genres avoid the establishment of rigid borders, seeking, rather, the intersections and fundamental elements that have remained throughout history.” 

Essentially, modern theatrical genres are less about strict definitions, and more about capturing shared human experiences that transcend time. In this post, let’s trace back some of these experiences to their beginnings, and find out how the genres we love to write and watch today fit into distant societies just as well as they do our own.

 

It’s All Greek to Us: Tragedy and Comedy  

The beginning of theatre was a tragedy…literally. From the texts that still exist, written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripide, Greek tragedies were often based on popular myths and involved ruin befalling the main character. In Poetics, Aristotle theorised that:

“Tragedy is the imitation of a noble and perfect action, which is of a proper magnitude, expressed in agreeable language, possessing a distinctness of pleasure, produced by action, not by narrative, and purifying the passions by means of fear and pity.” 

Basically, the ancient Greeks loved to have a good cry about their favourite characters now and then as it helped them get those negative emotions out. This is catharsis, and was a big reason why tragedy was the most popular of the theatrical genres at the time.

Another important facet of Greek tragedy was the chorus, a group of people who would sing at various points during a story to recap and emphasise important themes. Here’s a little more info on the chorus courtesy of the National Theatre. 

 

On A Lighter Note…

The Ancient Greeks also loved comedies. This genre really took off after the Lenaia festival in 442 B.C. From the works of Aristophanes and other writers at the time, the Greeks set the stage for comedies to include political satire as well as happy endings.

 

When in Rome, Laugh as the Romans Do

Generally, Roman theatrical genres were also split into tragedy and comedy. Of the latter, they differed from their Greek counterparts by focusing more on domestic situations and stock characters, such as the clever slave or braggart soldier, often in urban settings. Roman playwrights like Plautus and Terence adapted Greek plots but infused them with brash humour and wordplay.

Orlando Gibbs, writing for Antigone Journal, notes just how similar Roman comedies are to the ones we still watch today. Set ups and punchlines, outlandish characters in otherwise normal settings, and fourth wall breaks were all common techniques that had the Romans chortling.

 

Roman Tragedy 

The only Roman tragedies that survive were written by Seneca, who pioneered ‘declamatory style’. Emphasising elaborate speeches, dramatic monologues, and heightened rhetoric reflecting the Roman affinity for public speaking, declamation has since come to denote a style of acting that involves exaggerated gestures, vocal projection, and a focus on the emotional intensity of the words rather than naturalistic performance.

An important part of declamatory style was that it allowed Roman actors to stress the moral and psychological struggles of their characters through vivid, poetic monologues. Additionally, the downfall of tragic characters, such as Atreus in the play Thyestes, can be attributed to their lack of virtue, or virtus, as the Romans would have said.

Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely at all, tragedies fell out of favour in the theatre because of this focus on morality. However, rather than players and audiences wanting less preaching, in fact, they got more.

 

Medieval Morality 

In the Middle Ages, morality plays were the most common of the theatrical genres. They were defined by:

• Allegorical characters (Virtue and Vice, for example)
• Christian moral lessons
• Themes of sin, redemption, and salvation
• Didactic and instructional purpose
• Simple staging and portability

They also took on what, to modern ears, is a very charming rhyme. This was necessary so as to make the moral lessons these plays imparted both enjoyable and memorable for contemporary audiences. For example, the morality play Mary Magdalene has the character Good Angel state:

“Woman, woman, why art thou so onstabyll? Ful bytterly thys blysse it wol be bowth; Why art thou ayens God so verbyll? Wy thynkes thou nat God made the of nowth?”

In translation, the Good Angel reminds audience members that the fleeting worldly pleasures of prostitution come at a spiritual cost. In the second act, Mary Magdalene is reformed.

 

Interlude: Interludes  

In the transition between the medieval and Tudor periods, comedy reemerged as the most prominent of theatrical genres. This came in the form of interludes, short, usually secular, farces that took on a lot of the conventions of morality plays, but also at times appeared to make fun of them. Rather than preaching a specific lesson, they usually acted as light entertainment at court.

Arguably the most famous Interlude is John Heywood’s The Four Ps written in the early 16th century. In this play, a Pardoner, a Pilgrim, a Pedlar and a Potycary (apothecary), try to tell the biggest lie in order to determine who is most important in the eyes of God. As Alcuin Blamires argues, Heywood is “satirising the superstitious abuse of Catholic practices by ecclesiastical hypocrites.”

Interludes were true interludes, especially in the case of The Four Ps, not only because they play directly on the morality plays that came before, but also because they deal in the complexities of individuals and life itself. Thus, as Kent Cartwright explains in The Humanism of Acting: John Heywood’s The Foure PP, they link the middle ages and the renaissance in terms of genre.

Note: The Four Ps actually diverges from the forms of the interlude genre with its dealings with religion. Often the genres Morality Plays and Interlude overlap quite a lot. As modern writers and theatregoers, this proves just how fluid many genres are.

 

Tragedy’s Renaissance

In the Renaissance, particularly in England, tragedy was reborn. Playwrights like William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe elevated the genre to new heights.

Shakespeare’s tragedies, such as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello, retained the Greek sense of catharsis while deepening character psychology and exploring more complex moral questions such as in the Roman tradition. Will’s tragic heroes were often torn between conflicting desires, their downfalls stemming from internal ‘immoral’ flaws like ambition, jealousy, or indecision, but also from the hand of fate.

 

All That’s Come Before 

Another theatrical genre that gained ground in this period was the history play or, as we would call them, historical dramas. Think Shakespeare’s Henry V, Richard III, and Julius Caesar.

Blending elements of tragedy, political commentary, and spectacle, these narratives were both educational and entertaining. Audiences were drawn to the larger-than-life portrayals of kings and battles, but the plays’ underlying themes of ambition, betrayal, and justice resonated on a deeply personal level.

As Kings and Queens took over from the church as the main driving forces behind society and culture, this genre allowed playwrights to explore national identity and the nature of leadership. Of course, this is why it’s an enduring genre that persists today, often adapted for modern contexts to examine the dynamics of power in society.

 

Drama Queens: Melodrama and Romanticism  

Melodrama, derived from the Greek word for ‘song-drama,’ was characterised by exaggerated plots, moral polarisation, and clear distinctions between good and evil. Heroes were virtuous, villains were dastardly, and the stakes were often life-or-death.

Music underscored the action, heightening the emotional impact of climactic moments. Plays like The Octoroon by Dion Boucicault and Uncle Tom’s Cabin adapted from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel exemplified the genre’s ability to address pressing social issues, even if their approach was simplistic and theatrical.

Even though melodrama had, to some extent, gained popularity due to its divergence from theatrical forms of the renaissance, it says a lot that the genre still emphasised archetypes first seen back in the ancient Greek and Roman periods. Not to mention, rigid forms of morality were a leftover of the medieval period and continuing influence of the church even during the Industrial Revolution. In the words of Corinne Bailey Ray, “The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same.”

 

The Romance of Romanticism 

For the playwrights of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, theatre had become a bit too rigid. Basically, the Romantic writers (not to be confused with writers of romance) felt there were too many rules that governed theatrical performance, and too much focus on symbols and allegory.

With the industrial revolution gaining ground, the Romantics wanted plays that focused on reality, and ‘real’ people. It was time for intense emotion and an acknowledgement of life’s complexities as in Shakespearean works. Thus, to answer this need, the theatrical genre of romanticism took root.

In romantic plays, themes of nature, freedom, and the struggle between personal desire and societal expectations were common. Sometimes the ‘villain’ did not meet a tragic end as a result of lack of virtue, but came out on top. Pierre Beaumarchais’ comedy The Marriage of Figaro sees Count Almaviva outwitted but not removed of his status or wealth. Alternatively, the ‘hero’ was not always one who stuck to convention, such as Victor Hugo’s Hernani, a rebellious outlaw driven by passion and personal honour rather than societal norms.

Note: Here, as noted by Kenneth Grahame Rea, “The emphasis on detail, as opposed to the Neoclassical preoccupation with the general and representative, led toward naturalism on the one hand and a drama of the subjective imagination on the other.” Bear this in mind when we discuss naturalism/realism and surrealism below – this is arguably where they were born.

 

Go Big or Go Home

As well as changes to theatrical genres, another notable shift in this period was in the theatres themselves. For the Victorians, there was little need for the portable stages of travelling troupes when industry was advancing at a never-before-seen pace, and the new middle class were eager for entertainment.

As such, large, purpose built theatres popped up around Britain and the rest of the world. It’s no understatement to say this completely changed theatre and playwriting. Not only was it possible to have elaborate, historically-accurate sets and gorgeous costuming (both of which took up so much of the play’s runtime that “plays, especially those by Shakespeare had to be cut”) but now performers had to project their voices, which worked very well with the emotional highs of melodrama.

 

Let’s Be Realistic 

Remember when we told you to remember the emphasis on realism in Romantic plays? Well, in the mid-19th century it became a genre all its own, and it still perseveres today.

Realism emerged as a reaction to the exaggerated emotions and fantastical elements of melodrama, and was spurred on by the ability to create immersive experiences in new theatres.

Playwrights like Henrik Ibsen (A Doll’s House) and Anton Chekhov (The Seagull) explored themes of family, morality, and social constraints through relatable characters and everyday situations.

Realism aimed to reflect real life on stage through:

1. Everyday Settings: Kitchens, living rooms, workplaces. So popular were kitchens that they evolved their own sub-genre, the kitchen-sink play.

2. Natural Dialogue: Speech patterns mimicked real conversations.

3. Complex Characters: Multi-dimensional individuals with relatable conflicts, usually from middle or lower classes. Characters never realise melodramatic heralds as heroes or villains.

4. Social Issues: Class inequality, sexual politics, and moral ambiguity.

5. Fourth Wall: Actors avoided audience interaction at all costs to maintain immersion.

In the early 20th century, Konstantin Stanislavski’s system of acting deepened realism’s emotional and psychological impact, shaping modern theatrical genres. By mid-century, American playwrights like Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams adapted realism to critique cultural ideals such as the American Dream.

 

Naturalism

Often used interchangeably with realism, there are slight differences in the genre of naturalism. Notably, naturalism was heavily influenced by Charles Darwin’s theories, and Marxist philosophy, and sought to depict life objectively as well as authentically. As such, the main differences between realism and naturalism are:

• A focus on poor, working class characters – rarely middle class and NEVER upper class.

• Characters’ stories/lives are influenced solely by fate. They may make choices, but ultimately have no control.

• Fewer happy endings and a lot more pessimism. Characters rarely solve their problems, come out on top, or change society for the better.

• Sex, crime, lies, violence, and a whole lack of morality that would’ve shocked 19th century audiences were not just common but encouraged.

Naturalism underscored the need for realism among other theatrical genres. It also proved us playwrights can always take things one step further. Speaking of…

 

Too Much Realism

To crown this story of ebbs, flows, pushes and pulls in literature, we have surrealism. Essentially, just as realism was a reaction to melodrama and romanticism, so surrealism was a reaction to realism and naturalism. According to Theatre and Art:

“[Surrealists such as Andre Breton, Louis Aragon, Roger Vitrac, and Antonin Artaud] believed in the great positive healing force of the subconscious mind, spontaneity, originality, and anarchic humor. Their objective was to abolish art as a mere imitation of surface reality, and their visions which tapped into something more than reality itself.” 

This shift represented a desire to break free from the constraints of realism’s logical structure and delve into the abstract. Surrealism allowed playwrights to explore dreams, subconscious desires, and the irrational aspects of human experience, all to uncover deeper truths about our existence.

The 20th century also brought existentialist and absurdist influences to theatrical genres, with writers like Samuel Beckett and Jean-Paul Sartre questioning the very nature of human purpose and agency. These plays often left audiences not with a sense of catharsis, but with unresolved tension and a reflection on the absurdity of life itself…much like the naturalism they sought to contend with.

 

In Conclusion… 

Let’s revisit the quote from the introduction to this post:

“The new approaches around the characterization of theatrical genres avoid the establishment of rigid borders, seeking, rather, the intersections and fundamental elements that have remained throughout history.”

We hope we’ve proven to you through all the twists and turns above that theatrical genres are rarely, if ever, as rigid as they seem. They intersect and intertwine, lose popularity but never truly die, gain popularity but don’t stay on top for long, birth referential derivatives and complete opposites. What’s popular at any given time is a response to the society it’s popular in, but there are such a variety of plays, based on such a historical wealth of theatrical genres, that if you wanted to see an Interlude or a morality play in 2025, you definitely could.