Play (theatre)  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

At the Theater (The Melodrama) (c. 1860-64) - Honoré Daumier

Theatrum Orbi engraving by Theodor de Bry from the chapter on Ars Memoriae in Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica by Robert Fludd.

Ubu Roi (King Ubu) is a play developed by Alfred Jarry. It was premiered on December 10 1896, and is widely acknowledged as a theatrical precursor to the Absurdist, Dada and Surrealist art movements. It is the first of three plays written throughout Jarry's life that satirize European philosophies, and their sometimes ludicrous practices. The two following plays were Ubu Cocu (Ubu Cuckolded) and Ubu Enchaîné (Ubu Enchained), neither of which were performed in Jarry's lifetime.

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A play or stageplay, written by a playwright, or dramatist, is a form of literature, almost always consisting of dialog between characters, intended for performance rather than reading. However, many people and especially scholars simply read and study plays in this more academic manner, particularly classical plays such as those of Shakespeare. And there are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed or read. So, the term play refers both to the written works of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance.

See also

• Playing

Lists

• List of basic theatre topics
• List of films based on stage plays or musicals
• List of plays made into feature films

Related topics

• Closet drama
• Drama
• Dramatis personæ
• Playwright
• Theatre
• History of theatre
• Screenplay
• Musical theatre