South Theatre

The South Theatre is the larger and better-preserved of Jerash's two Roman theatres, built in the first century AD and capable of seating around 3,000 spectators. Its curved tiers of limestone seating are largely intact, and the stage building behind the orchestra — the scaenae frons — retains several of its original columns.

Climbing to the top tier gives one of the best panoramas of the entire site: the Oval Plaza, the colonnaded street, the Temple of Artemis on its hill, and the hills of Gilead beyond. The theatre is sometimes used for performances during the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts (held annually in July), which adds a modern layer to what is already an ancient performance space.

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The South Theatre seats 3,000 and has acoustics that still work: a whisper from the stage can be heard clearly at the top tier. The theatre was built in the 1st century AD and was so well designed that it required no amplification technology — the curved cavea and the smooth stone of the stage wall do the work. Local musicians have been known to give impromptu performances to demonstrate the effect.