The post-war Theater witnessed the alterations that the whole world underwent in the course of the Second World War. Right after the war, the European theatrical scenes were occupied by the plays of three authors. They are Tennessee Williams with his “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, Jean-Paul Sartre with “No Exit”, and Samuel Becket “Waiting for Godot”;
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Modern Theatre comes from the European Renaissance Theatre of the 16th-17th centuries that dates back to the Ancient Greek and Roman Theatre. Its foundation was laid down in England and Italy, especially by the English Renaissance Theatre between in the period between Reformation and theatre closure in 1642;
The beginning of the 19th century was swept by the never-before-seen cultural movement known as Romanticism. One of the first European dramatists who got himself involved in this process was August Schlegel that considered W. Shakespeare the greatest playwright;
The Late 19th century Theater
By the end of the 19th century, Theater grows to be more and more commercialized. As cities became larger and middle class richer, the "hunger" for qualitative theatrical shows and spectacles tends to be enormous. Actors and theater directors unite into business enterprises (repertory companies). This companies became the first commercial theatrical establishments in Western civilization that enriched actors and playwrights.
From that time on, the Western stars started touring all around the world, receiving colossal royalties, with the audience becoming more democratic and equal. By 1900, the European law developed a copyright law that protected authors. By that time, being a dramatist becomes a lucrative occupation.
The Late 19th century Theater is the period of Late Modern Theater (described above). It is the time of great cultural changes and experiments, the most fundamental consequences of which will be Absurdist Theatre, One-Man Show and Documentary Theater.
The passage of the 19th into the 20th century witnessed the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe to be the most in-great-request play.
One more extremely go-go theatrical play was Baucicault's Ghost Glide "The Corsican Brothers".
The greatest technical change that took place by the end of the 19th century was the invention of gas light and then electricity. The auditoriums were darkened by that time and light was used for illuminating the scene whenever it was necessary.
We shouldn't also forget about Burlesque and Vaudeville Theater. Both of them stressed pretty women and family life.