AMPHITHEATRE

An amphitheatre or amphitheater is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. Ancient Rome had a range of venues for public entertainment, which in modern terminology are separated into four types: the theatre was used for dramatic, music and dance; the stadium served for athletic competitions; the amphitheater for blood games; the circus or hippodrome for horse and chariot races, while it is true that facilities which physically allowed it were used to accommodate performances commonly reserved for other building types.

A natural amphitheatre is a performance space located in a spot where a steep mountain or a particular rock formation naturally amplifies or echoes sound, making it ideal for musical and theatrical performances. An amphitheatre can be naturally occurring formations which would be ideal for this purpose, even if no theatre has been constructed there. Notable natural amphitheatres include the Drakensberg amphitheatre in South Africa, Slane Castle in Ireland, the Supernatural Amphitheatre in Australia, and the Red Rocks and Gorge amphitheatres in the western United States.