# Were there episodic performances of fictional material prior to radio? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185 "2023-10-27T16:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/1 "2023-10-27T16:34:28Z")
Lots of entertainment today is episodic. TV series go for years with the same group of characters. Movies have many sequels. Sometimes the episodes have an overarching plot, sometimes they don’t. I know that radio had lots of episodic performances. People would tune in week after week to hear the continuing saga and stories of different groups of characters. Did that sort of episodic performance begin with radio or did it exist prior to that? For instance, were there series of operas about the same characters? Or different plays about the same characters? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/2 "2023-10-27T16:42:45Z")
There were movie serials like _The Perils of Pauline_ back in the silent era. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/3 "2023-10-27T16:43:11Z")
I don’t know if he intended them as a series, but Shakespeare’s plays about the Wars of the Roses are sometimes performed in sequence. Sir John Falstaff, a supporting character in _Henry IV, part 1_ and _Henry IV, part 2_, was so popular that Shakespeare gave him his own play in _The Merry Wives of Windsor_. Wagner’s _The Ring of the Nibelungs_ is intended to be performed over four nights. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/4 "2023-10-27T16:45:36Z")
Do Punch and Judy shows count? > **[Punch and Judy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_and_Judy)** > > Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to Punch's slapstick. The Daily Telegraph called Punch and Judy "a staple of the British seaside scene". The various episodes of Punch comedy—often provoking shocked laughter—are dominated by the clowning of Mr. Punch. > The show is... ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/5 "2023-10-27T17:09:27Z")
Not performed, but multiple Charles Dickens novels were originally published as serials. Can’t say for sure about Edmund Wells or Darles Chickens, but I imagine it was a common practice at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/6 "2023-10-27T17:12:58Z")
See what Wikipedia has to say about this. > **[Serial (literature)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_(literature))** > > In literature, a serial is a printing or publishing format by which a single larger work, often a work of narrative fiction, is published in smaller, sequential instalments. The instalments are also known as numbers, parts, fascicules or fascicles, and may be released either as separate publications or within sequential issues of a periodical publication, such as a magazine or newspaper. > Serialisation can also begin with a single short story that is subsequently turned into a series. Historic... ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/7 "2023-10-27T17:13:27Z")
Given the huge popularity of Charles Dickens’ stories, published in serialized form; and the illiteracy rate of the time, there probably were public performances. - One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell without dissolving into tears … of laughter.\* - Oscar Wilde ([Debunked 😥](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/02/21/heart-stone/?amp=1)) ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/8 "2023-10-27T17:14:22Z")
I came across a fictional story recently that claimed that Dickens held public performances. I have no idea if this is true or not ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/9 "2023-10-27T17:14:46Z")
I’m sure there were examples of episodic fiction that was written, but I’m more wondering about performances. Early performances of episodic material would be somewhat similar to the modern entertainment medium where we watch massive amounts of episodic material. It’s relatively simple to write episodic material since one person can do it on their own schedule. A performance is going to take more combined effort to create the stage, train the actors, the audience needs to attend on the schedule of the performance, etc. I would say that the Punch and Judy performances would be an early example of the episodic performances that I was wondering about. People would see that there was a Punch and Judy show at a festival or whatever and go there to watch the performance to see what they were up to. It would be a recurring performance with characters that they were familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/10 "2023-10-27T17:27:43Z")
Medieval “mystery plays” and “miracle plays” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery\_play/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_play/) > The mystery play developed, in some places, into a series of plays dealing with all the major events in the Christian calendar, from the Creation to the Day of Judgment. By the end of the 15th century, the practice of acting these plays in cycles on festival days was established in several parts of Europe. Sometimes, each play was performed on a decorated pageant cart that moved about the city to allow different crowds to watch each play, and provided actors with a dressing room as well as a stage.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_play#cite_note-7) The entire cycle could take up to twenty hours to perform and could be spread over a number of days. Taken as a whole, these are referred to as _Corpus Christi cycles_. These cycles were often performed during the [Feast of Corpus Christi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Corpus_Christi) and their overall design drew attention to Christ’s life and his redemption for all of mankind.[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_play#cite_note-8) > > The plays were performed by a combination of professionals and amateurs and were written in highly elaborate stanza forms; they were often marked by the extravagance of the sets and ‘special effects’, but could also be stark and intimate. There was a wide variety of theatrical and poetic styles, even in a single cycle of plays. Reminiscent of modern binge-watching. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/11 "2023-10-27T17:35:16Z")
One Thousand and One Nights, at least in the form we have in English, is essentially a serialized set of tales, with the protagonist’s life hinging on the king needing to hear the continuation of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/12 "2023-10-27T18:34:17Z")
Could Homer have recited the entire _Iliad_ in one sitting? Or was it presented over a series of performances? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/13 "2023-10-28T05:07:26Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I came across a fictional story recently that claimed that Dickens held public performances. I have no idea if this is true or not This is true. He apparently made more money from his performances than from his writing, and was acclaimed as a great entertainer. [![](https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/images/Dickens-reading-in--Leicestershire-1858.jpg) ](https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/images/Dickens-reading-in--Leicestershire-1858.jpg) On the other hand, Mark Twain gave him a [very bad review](https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/twain-on-dickens.html). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/14 "2023-10-28T05:22:16Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Darles Chickens Didn’t he write A Sale Of Two Titties? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/15 "2023-10-28T07:00:14Z")
Richard Wagner intended his _Der Ring des Nibelungen_ cycle to be performed sequentially: - Das Rheingold - Die Walküre - Siegfried - Götterdämmerung Shakespeare had a cycle of plays covering the Wars of the Roses: - Henry VI, Part I - Henry VI, Part II - Henry VI, Part III - Richard III There’s also a later cycle sometimes called the Henriad: - Richard II - Henry IV, Part I - Henry IV, Part II - Henry V One could argue that _Julius Caesar_ and _Antony and Cleopatra_ could also constitute a cycle. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/16 "2023-10-28T08:19:51Z")
You beat me to the…well, you know. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/17 "2023-10-28T09:21:19Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Medieval “mystery plays” and “miracle plays” We still have mystery plays in York, and in Chester, Lincoln, Lichfield and elsewhere. The various episodes are played out at different locations during the day, and it would take a significant feat of organisation to see them all. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Barbers%27_Baptism_147274.jpg/320px-Barbers%27_Baptism_147274.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Barbers%27_Baptism_147274.jpg/320px-Barbers%27_Baptism_147274.jpg) Dame Judi Dench (from York) got one of her first acting gigs in the Mysteries. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/18 "2023-10-28T11:18:15Z")
As I understand, bards sang/chanted Homer in memorized pieces, typically as after-dinner entertainment. What Homer himself did, whether he existed, or was several people, is unknown. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/19 "2023-10-28T13:28:06Z")
I seem to remember the same was true of Norse sagas and Anglo-Saxon epics like Beowulf. There would have been little or no other means of handing them on. Come to think of it, [Aeschylus’s Oresteia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oresteia) is a series of plays in a bloody family saga. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185/20 "2023-10-28T13:39:22Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Did that sort of episodic performance begin with radio or did it exist prior to that? Something like this existed in written fiction—the Sherlock Holmes stories are an example of episodic adventures featuring the same characters, as was so common later in radio and TV. As for _performances_, though, radio gave the same storytellers/performers access to the same audiences on a regular basis, which enabled the kind of episodic fiction you’re asking about. That was harder to achieve before radio. But you might have had something like that if you were royal or rich enough to have your own storyteller (_a la_ Scheherezade) or acting troupe, or if you had a village storyteller or bard telling folkloric tales featuring common characters like [Coyote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_(mythology)) or [Br’er Rabbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%27er_Rabbit). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-episodic-performances-of-fictional-material-prior-to-radio/992185.md?page=2)