HISTORY OF THEATRES

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 981, 26 May 1930, Page 16

HISTORY OF THEATRES

EARLY RELIGIOUS PLAYS ADDRESS BY REV. BENTLEY “The History of the Theatre ’—this ! •was the title to an address given in | the St. Matthew’s Parish Hall on Sat- 1 urday evening by the Rev. Walter E. 1 Bentley. It was followed by several i Shakespearean and other readings. i Mr. Bentley, who is conducting a two weeks’ mission at St. Matthew’s j Church, traced the early drama in Greece, and gave a vivid description of the oldest theatre in the world, the Theatre of Dionysius, which he visited j several years ago. The great plays by Aeschylus and others were not solely given for the entertainment of the people, but to do honour to their god Dionysius, and they were opened with religious devotions by the high priest. The literary qualities of these plays, however, were so high that they became ' the classics. But the plays finally perished in the fall of the Empire. “After this period there was no theatre in the Western world for 600 years. In the 11th century, some priests in the Church of England, in a little village outside the city of Norwich, created the modern theatre by acting the virtues of their patron saint, St. Nicholas. The effort proved so successful that it led finally to the dramatisation of the Bible.” said Mr. Bentley. Tracing the history of the Biblical drama, the speaker explained how it passed beyond the control of the priests and gave rise to the prejudice against the theatre which had existed for centuries. The religious plays were followed by the morality plays and these gradually developed into the secular drama as it was today. CHURCH ANNIVERSARY The Mount Roskill Congregational Sunday School celebrated a successful anniversary on Sunday, three services being held. The morning service was condqcted by the Y.M.C.A. Preachers’ Club Singing under the baton of Mr. Moreton was a pleasing feature of the gathering. In the afternoon Mr. Enoch Wood, the veteran Sunday School teacher, addressed the children and distributed the prizes won by them. Pastor Dowle spoke in the evening on "Christ, the Son of the Living God.”