Machine Play

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 606 words | Copyright

Machine Play, type of 17th-century French spectacle which made excessive use of the mechanical contrivances and scene-changes developed in connection with the evolution of opera, particularly by Torelli. The subjects were usually taken from classical mythology, the first French example being Corneille's Andromède (1650); the genre reached its peak with Molière's Amphitryon (1668) and Psyché (1671). Most of the machine plays, though not necessarily the best, were produced at the Théâtre du Marais, which had a large and excellently equipped stage suitable for their production.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Machine Play." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Machine Play." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-MachinePlay.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Machine Play." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-MachinePlay.html

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