Though apparently an elementary matter, the shape of the stage and auditorium probably offers the greatest single control over the text of the play that can be measured and tested. Moreover, it is arguable that the playhouse architecture dictates more than any other single factor the style of a play, the conventions of its acting, and the quality of dramatic effect felt by its audience. The shape of the theatre is always changing, so that to investigate its function is both to understand the past and to anticipate the future. Western theatre has broken away from the dominance of the ...(100 of 10729 words)