The ancient Greek experience of the theatre was very different to ours today. For the ancient Greeks, theatre was part of a religious festival in honour of the god Dionysus.
The plays took place in open air theatres. The seats were usually arranged in a semi-circle, and were always built into the side of a hill. A theatre in fifth century Athens could hold an audience of about 15000 people.
There were three different types of play in Classical Greece – tragedies, satyr plays, and comedies. Tragedies were very serious and sad, usually based on stories from Greek myth. Satyr plays were also based on myths and featured the mythological creatures satyrs, but were funny. Comedies were sometimes about the real world and sometimes based on myth. They often made fun of well known people and involved a lot of rude jokes.
Only men could act in ancient Greece. They performed all of the parts, including women and children. The audience at a Greek play was not as polite as the audiences today. During the play, people would eat and would shout out if they liked what was said.