Greek theatre began in 534 BC in Athens, where the first theatre was created to host plays about the gods in honor of Dionysus. Plays were attended by up to 15,000 people and were an important social event, even allowing prisoners to attend. Only men could perform in plays initially, with women's roles played by men in drag. Plays told stories through song instead of lines, with actors using gestures and masks to convey meaning. Tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays were the main genres, with tragedy and comedy seen as separate. Athens spread these theatre traditions to its allies to promote a shared culture.

1. Greek Theatre How did it all begin?

2. About Greek Theatre It all started in 534 BC, the ancient Athenians created a theatre culture and the first theatre was the ‘Western Theatre’ which is in Athens, Greece. The types of musicals that they had then were about their gods and mostly held in honour of god Dionysian.

3. As for who went to watch it, anyone was welcome to come and watch the musicals as it was a really important thing for the Greeks. It was so important that even prisoners were allowed to be released just to watch the plays. For the audience it was usually around a crowd of a huge 14,000 -15,000 people.

4. Men were the only people that were allowed to participate in the musicals whereas women were only allowed to go watch the performances. So when it came to women characters in the musicals men would then dress up like women and play their part.

5. In the musicals the songs that were sang by the singers was the only way the whole story was told (there were no lines for actors). The thing that the actors were used for were gestures, even the expressions were seen through the masks that they would wear. Plays were played in both broad daylight and in the evening, however they were mostly watched in daylight, so that was the main time in which the plays were staged.

6. All the actors had to exaggerate their gestures so that the audience was able to understand what was going on clearly. As well as that the Greek Theatres had great sound systems so that even the quietest sound that was made was able to be heard by each and every person present in the theatre.

7. Tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays were the theatrical forms. Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject in comic manner. Aristotle's Poetics sets out a thesis about the perfect structure for tragedy. Athens was the main center for these theatrical traditions. Athenians spread these festivals to its numerous allies in order to promote a common identity.

8. At the early Greek festivals, the actors, directors, and dramatists were all the same person. After some time, only three actors were allowed to perform in each play. Later few non-speaking roles were allowed to perform on-stage. Due to limited number of actors allowed on-stage, the chorus evolved into a very active part of Greek theatre. Music was often played during the chorus' delivery of its lines .