Theatre (also spelled theater see note) is a branch of the performing arts concerned with the performance of a story. In performing a story, actors may utilize written texts or plays, gestures, music or dance among other things. To accomplish a theatrical performance, only a performance and a spectator or spectators (known as an audience) maare needed. British director Peter Brook, states in the opening of his book The Empty Space that the only thing needed for theatre is for a man to walk "across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him." ^[1] While little is needed to create theatre, it may often include other technical elements such as a theatre building, scenery, costumes, special lighting and/or sound effects.

The basic elements of theatre may be found in every civilzation and culture in the world. Theatrical elements may be found in activities such as religious rituals and ceremonies, parades, political events and children's play. Anthropologists argue that over time these elemts solidify into a theatrical tradition. ^[2] The earliest recorded theatrical events are found among the cultures of ancient Egypt (beginning circa 2500 BCE), India (beginning circa the 5th century BCE), China (during the Shang dynasty, circa 1500 BCE) and Greece (circa the 6th century BCE). Each of these cultures developed theatre by developing the literary side of theatre, drama, as well as developing performance techniques.

Over time, advanced cultures developed forms of theatre, drama and methods of training performers. This has created a plethora of genres and performance styles. Additionally, some cultures have broken down theatre by the type of story being told creating even more genres.