Drama Glossary
Key theatre terms and definitions including related shows.
A betrayal of romantic commitment, often a catalyst for emotional turmoil and dramatic conflict.
A condition of separation or loneliness, frequently central to character development in realist or symbolic drama.
A British theatrical movement from the 1950s–60s that depicted working-class life with gritty realism and domestic conflict.
A literary and theatrical style blending realistic narrative with fantastical elements to explore complex truths.
A large Christian congregation, sometimes satirized or critiqued in theatre for spectacle and commercialization.
A dramatic form where a character recalls past events, often blurring reality with subjective perception.
A region in central England that contributed significantly to industrial development and working-class theatre traditions.
A generational label explored in contemporary theatre to examine values, anxiety, and identity in modern life.
A theatrical style that emphasizes simplicity in staging and dialogue to focus attention on core themes and performance.
Hatred or prejudice against women, a theme often critiqued in feminist and realist plays to explore gender roles and oppression.
Naturalism is a theatrical style that seeks to depict life with accuracy, focusing on everyday speech, behavior, and settings. It often highlights ordinary people in realistic environments, emphasizing authenticity over theatricality. Emerging in the late 19th century, naturalism remains influential in contemporary drama.
Naturalistic drama is a theatrical style that seeks to present life on stage with heightened realism, portraying characters, dialogue, and settings as close to everyday reality as possible. It often emphasizes the influence of environment, heredity, and social conditions on human behavior, inspired by scientific and sociological ideas of the late 19th century. Productions typically use detailed, lifelike sets and natural speech patterns to immerse audiences in an authentic slice of life.