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Theatre of Dougga

Theatrum Thuggae

TheaterAfrica Proconsularis · Dougga, TunisiaBuilt 168 CE

Not standing in 117 CE

About

Dougga's theatre seated 3,500 people across 19 semicircular tiers and was paid for entirely by one local priest, Publius Marcius Quadratus, who dedicated it in 168-169 CE. A long inscription across the stage building's frieze names him flamen for life and town decurion, dedicating the building to the health of co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Carved into the hillside below the future Capitol site, it still hosts a summer festival today. In 117 CE that hillside was bare rock. Marcus Aurelius had not yet even become emperor.

What happened here

Seating is the message: the front rows are reserved by law for the town council, and everyone can see who is sitting where. The building is a half-circle against a tall stone backdrop that also serves as a permanent set, and the acoustics are good enough that an actor can be heard without effort. The programme is mime and pantomime more than the old tragedies — bawdy, topical, sometimes politically sharp enough that performers get exiled. Audiences are loud, partisan, and quite prepared to shout a piece down. Awnings and perfumed water sprays are laid on when the sponsor is generous. Shows are attached to religious festivals and paid for by a magistrate who wants the credit, and his name is on the seating.

In ancient writing

CIL, VIII 26528
The theatre's dedicatory inscription recording that Publius Marcius Quadratus built it for his hometown at his own expense in AD 168-169, celebrated with games and public distributions.