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| GENERAL INFORMATION |
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| ARCHITECTURE |
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| Forgotten times |
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| Rebirth |
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Today, one can see the terraces of the Vienne theatre lining the western flank of the Pipet hill (the cavea) and, below, a semi-circular space (the orchestra ) as well as a reconstruction of the wall (the proscaenium) which delineated the stage (the pulpitum). At the back, the foundations of the stage and the pit for scrolling the backcloth have been preserved. The approximately 32 metre high wall (frons scaenae) which closed off the building on the city side, has disappeared.The general layout of the monument is fairly well-known in spite of the major reconstructions carried out in the course of excavations begun in 1922. The purpose of these reconstructions was to "preserve" the edifice and help understand it as well as to permit the re-use of the ancient structure as an entertainment site.
The Vienne theatre is one of a series of "classical" theatres inspired by those built in Rome from the second half of the 1st Century BC The theatre's diameter makes it the second theatre in Gaul after the Autun theatre (148 m. diameter). Including the upper portico, it has a diameter of 129.8 m (439 Roman feet). It has the same dimensions as the Marcellus Theatre in Rome. The height of the facade has been estimated at a little more than 32m. on the north entrance side. There was room for about 13,000 people inside the building. Dated traditionally
From the Augustan Age, recent archaeological observations show that, in reality, it could be a bit later.
Starting from the Augustan Age public taste turned towards mime and pantomime, i.e. accompanied by music and dance and with numerous stage effects created using complex machinery. The actors wore masks which made each character instantly recognisable. These masks also acted as megaphones.
"The theatre was also a civic building par excellence, where the city and country people, those who had been granted citizenship or not, were summoned to meet periodically before the imperial effigies and their guarantors, mounted on the frons scaenae" (adapted from P. Gros).
