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Thespis wins the first public contest for tragic poets in Greece, and the term thespian derives from his name. He also introduces masks, which become a staple of Greek and Roman theatre.
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Everyman, the best surviving example of a morality play, is written. The morality play touches on large contemporary issues with moral overtones and describes the lives of everyday people facing temptation.
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The Theatre, the first commercial theatre, opens in London. It is also the first Elizabethan playhouse.
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The first professional theatre company in the American colonies, the Virginia Company of Comedians, opens a temporary wooden playhouse in Williamsburg, Virginia.
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The Theatre Regulation Act of 1843 bans drinking in legitimate theatres in the US. Many tavern owners take advantage of the situation and renovate their establishments to accommodate live performances.
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Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire opens at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre, with Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski and Jessica Tandy as Blanche DuBois?. The play wins the 1948 Pulitzer Prize.
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The church introduces dramatic performances to Easter services, acting out the story of the Resurrection. Ironically, the institution that discouraged theatre is responsible for its rebirth.
