ABSTRACT
From the second half of the fifteenth century, theatrical activity saw a slow but steady drift away from presentations by amateurs in open spaces, and towards smaller scale, indoor performances. Tudor ‘interludes’ were plays with or without a moral purpose, which were usually, but not necessarily, comedies in the broadest sense. They were interludes in that they were often played in great halls at a time of festivity, when they might be presented between the courses of a banquet. They were secular, used smallish casts and were often (though by no means always) performed by professional companies.
