A n c i e n t P l a n e t
Unmasking Ancient Colour
O n l i n e
Colour and the Classical Theatre Mask By Andrea Sinclair M.A.
j o u r n a l
T
he purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an overview of the characteristics of traditional theatre masks from the Hellenistic Greek and
the Roman Imperial periods. The primary literary source employed to illustrate this discussion is the Onomasticon of Julius Pollux, which will be examined from the point of view of the importance of colour to convey meaning in the creation of a theatrical mask. Who introduced masks, prologues, the number of performers and such things is unknown. — Aristotle, Poetics, 1449b
background in theatre design. But this assumption of austerity would be faulty, for theatre performance in antiquity was a different animal, less refined and more diverse in its application and unlike The idea of theatre performance in ancient contemporary theatre, all actors wore Greece and Rome conjures up a variety of masks. images for me, one of vast semi-circular auditoriums, layered schema with elegant The intention of this article is to elaborate columns and facades, audiences dressed on a topic relating to theatre from ancient in their ‘Sunday best’ reclining leisurely Rome and Greece that appears to be sadly on steeped seating and, of course, the absent. A factor which one could argue is performers. Somehow I cannot help but as crucial to the nature of an object as its be influenced by the elegance of modern form and texture: the colour of these masks reconstructions of classical theatre when worn by performers in early plays. Much I envision ancient theatre performance. literature has applied itself to the physical Perhaps this may be blamed on my own characteristics of masks from late antiquity 43