Latin, or ancient Roman, theatre developed out of the tradition of the Greek stage. Many of the themes, stories and even plots of the Roman plays were directly taken from that of the Greeks. However, there were new innovations and major changes brought by the Romans that made their theatre specifically Latin. Two of the standard structural changes include the reduced importance of the chorus in Roman theatre and also the introduction of gruesome and bloody violence. In the Greek theatre violent episodes occurred off stage and were only referred to in the action of the play. However, the Romans brought the bloody activities onto the stage and were into the gore and sensation they presented.
This is demonstrated in the play Medea, which is based on a popular story from Greek and then Roman mythology. The Greek dramatist Euripides wrote the original version, which did not include violent scenes, though they were definitely described and the audience was fully aware of and disturbed by the events of the play. However, Seneca puts the violent murders right on the stage. There are other significant structural and characterization differences between the plays and while contemporary tourists may enjoy a staging of one of these ancient stories, the guests in a Rome hotel are unlikely to see a production like the ancients.
