On Stage: Jekyll and Hyde, Leslie Bricusse (lyrics) and Greg Boyd (direction); set at the Houston Music Hall, by Vince Mountain. (Photo by Vince Mountain.)

3 Theatres

DOI: 10.4324/9780080520995-5

A theatre is composed of two basic parts: a place for the audience, and a place for the actors to perform. Optionally, it may also have space in which to provide a setting or “scene,” a special environment within which the action of a play takes place. With these three elements we can describe any theatre building and begin to assess its usefulness.

Different Kinds of Theatres

Picture-frame Theatres

Most of the older theatres we visit today—and ...

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