The Long View of World Theatre History

Abstract

The mere chronicling of events is the barest sort of history, for it makes little effort to understand why those events happened when and as they did. This chapter explores world theatre history’s temporal dimension by using Fernand Braudel’s concept of the longue duree. Given that this concept might seem to render human actions irrelevant, the chapter also takes up the issue of agency, arguing that although people operate within the historical contexts of the longue duree, they are the makers of theatre history. As aspects of the longue duree, the chapter discusses three kinds of structures that provide long-lived contexts in which theatre artists work: theatre forms themselves; theatrical structures within regional theatre complexes; and structures of the societal context such as language, religion, and ethnicity/race. It then discusses three long-term historical trends that have directly and indirectly impacted theatre history: technological expansion; increasing societal interactions; and accelerating urbanization.