We went to the Theatre of Orange in France. Instead of writing an ordinary blog post I wrote a story about a man that went to the Theatre of Orange in Roman time. I also put some fun facts at the end.
The hustle of the crowd gathering around the theatre was overwhelming, but Andreoes was too excited about the show to notice. He sat down near the front row with a stone wall separating him from the different classes. Androes was a merchant therefore he got to sit in the third section with the other merchants and rich town people. Far away the poor people sat up the back. In the first row sat the magistrates and the city councillors. In the second sat the equestraii - the knights and the large landholders.
Everyone was sitting on the large stone seats. Each one went a foot higher than the one before it. The seats were built into the hillside. They looked like half a bowl curving around to the main stage which was at the front with a wall behind it.
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| Mosaics of centaurs in the next-door museum |
He looked up at the large pillars carved with marble and the walls decorated with mosaics of centaurs. The band began to play a dramatic tune.
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A man dressed in a long purple cloak stood at the centre of the stage. Above him was a statue of the Emperor of Rome with a man at a smaller scale standing under him kneeling.
The man in the cloak began to speak. "Welcome to the Theatre. Now for the show!" The band struck one more note and went behind the stage.
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| A mask worn by actors in the play |
The show began. Actors ran across the stage dancing, singing and acting. They wore decorated clothes made for their characters. They wore masks to indicate who they were. Also, they had to do things in a large manner so the people in the back could see. So, they used large, dramatic gestures.
The show went on for four hours. After about an hour Androe's tummy began to rumble. So he got out his omlet like substance called patate and began to eat absentmindedly while the show went on.
The actors never seemed to get tired.
But it was as fun as the start at the end. When the last show stopped the man in the cloak came out again. He said "I hope you enjoyed the show. Now you may leave.
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| The tunnel in this picture is the entrance to the vomitorium. |
Slowly with the crowd Androes left with the crowd through the entrances called the vomitorium.
He went home to his stone house and went inside. After a long day sleep took Androes at once.
Here are some Facts about the Theatre of Orange:
1. The theatre performed on nearly half the days of the year.
2. it's 103 metres long and 37 metres tall.
3. It was open to everybody including slaves.
4. It had walls between the classes such as merchants and slaves.
5. The theatre was built under the rein of Augustus the Emperor of Rome at the time.
6. It was built in 55 BC
7. Originally it had a wood roof, but it burnt in a fire.
8. The theatre has a large statue of the King of Rome at that time and a small man kneeling before him. You can detach the head of the statue and swap it for the head of a different King.
9. It was built into a hill, so it did not take as long to build the seats.
10. The walls were decorated with images of centaurs.
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