Re: The Demonization of Shakespeare

Paul S Person wrote:

On Wed, 9 Jul 2025 15:24:33 -0700, Bobbie Sellers

>
Well before actors started acting in Christian dramas they were wed to
the mystery plays of the pagan cults of the Romans.  So that prejudiced the
ecclesiastic arm against them.

As I understand it our modern theatre came from christian mystery plays which themselves may have arisen from non-speaking tableaux. After a century or two of these, people started exploring non-religious topics.

 I think the problem went back a lot further. Perhaps back to the
Athenians or before. Or perhaps not.

As I understand it, no free women were allowed in Greek theatre in classic times, though there is some evidence that slave women were allowed in non-speaking roles (as slaves, of course).
Women were allowed in Roman theatre.  Some sources imply that they too were confined to non-speaking roles, but there is plenty of evidence to contradict this.
William Hyde