Swiss towns put on a play: Urban space as stage in the sixteenth century

In sixteenth-century Swiss towns, the ritual function of urban plays, put on stage most frequently during Carnival and at Easter, was primarily that of a communal festival. Members of the community eager to perform were asked to communicate their interest to the city council, who made the final decision about the distribution of the roles. In the city of Bern, the painter, dramatist, and statesman Niklaus Manuel Deutsch wrote plays which gave eloquent expression to his early commitment to the cause of the Protestant Reformation. In contrast to the propagation of urban religious identities, another play by Valentin Bolz, Mirror of the World, which was performed in Basel in May 1550, sought to strengthen political bonds between the Swiss urban communities. These two examples from Bern and Basel are powerful reminders that the urban space as stage could unite as well as divide.