High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The theatre of ancient Rome refers to dramatic performances performed in Rome and its dominions during classical antiquity. Ancient Roman theatre was heavily influenced by the Greek tradition, and as with many other literary genres Roman dramatists tended to adapt and translate from the Greek. For example, Seneca's Phaedra was based on that of Euripides, and many of the comedies of Plautus were direct translations of works by Menander. The Romans were more interested in comedy however and many found tragedies to be boring and too depressing for the stage.