The roots of theatre : rethinking ritual and other theories of origin THEORIES OF ORIGINS Basic Definitions The Ritual Origin of Tragedy The Ritual Origin of Comedy The Shamanistic Source The Recreation of Theatre by Christianity The Mummers Plays The Adoption of Theatre by Judaism Back to Aristotle HEDGES AND BOUNDARIES Performance Theory The Drama of Real Life The Spirit of Carnival Culture as Play Game A THEORY OF ROOTS The Language of Dreams Playing as Thinking Mythical Representation Retracing the Steps of History Reflections and Conclusions