#worldtheatreday

World Theatre Day is about the value of theatre in our lives and culture. I was very surprised to hear that some people, over the past year, thought that going to the theatre was a luxury we can live without. It may be a costly activity (unlike during Elizabethan times) but it is, nonetheless, an experience that cannot be replaced by anything else. Watching a DVD on Shakespeare's The Tempest pales in comparison to a stage production seen live. In the theatre, you are mesmerized by what is happening on stage. When watching a DVD, you can find your concentration wandering about as you think of those crisps you've been meaning to snack on or remembering you meant to take the dog for a walk and now he's become a nuisance you'll have to hit pause and go to the park. 

At the theatre, you're in the moment, experiencing what's going on. You learn about life's problems and issues and how these characters have dealt with them. Theatre makes you think. You are not just a passive onlooker. You interact with the actors on stage even if only internally. Although, at an earlier stage in the history of theatre, the audience participated more vocally and the actors responded. There was less emphasis on sticking to the text. Actors were also heavily involved in writing scripts for a play by adapting it during rehearsals or live performances which included audience participation. The actors would respond to the audience's comments and thereby change the script. However, it's more common these days to stay with the script written down. That makes sense to me. I see it as a piece of music. If Elgar took the time and effort to write his Cello Concerto in a particular way then I should play it the way he wrote it. The right notes in the right order. Not change the notes as my mood takes me!

A production involves many people from manager/artistic director, designer, lighting and sound technicians to those who construct the set, costume designers and prop-makers. The type of theatre the play is going to take place in also makes a difference as to how the play will be performed, and how sound and light technicians will adapt to the challenges of a given auditorium. For instance, a small, local theatre will have different in-built problems compared with a West-End theatre. And, of course, the actors/actresses also have to adapt to the various theatres, their size and shape as well as acoustics. 

The majority of plays have a purpose to them. They revolve around what it means to be human and trying to understand the society and world we live in. Conflict often takes centre stage in most plays. Conflict within ourselves, with others and the world around us. We all want to understand what is happening in our lives and how to deal with the problems and conflicts we encounter. Theatre can teach us about people in the past and their cultures. We can gain insight into how people lived and how their relationships and society functioned. It may seem irrelevant to us now. But we haven't changed that much down the ages. Our problems are sadly not that different even if the language and customs appear so. 

Playwrights write plays. And plays are meant to be heard and seen in a theatre. They are an important genre that cannot be presented successfully in any other way. The playwright is writing a play with the view to it taking place with a live audience in a theatre. Plays are not like novels, to be read silently. Neither are they a film you watch in the cinema or at home. It's a thought provoking yet entertaining art form which has to be seen live within a theatre setting surrounded by people watching the same play but maybe experiencing it differently. Each performance is different because the audience is different. I know how an audience can influence the experience. A receptive audience that is in the zone and focused on the play understanding when to laugh or feel sad enhances the experience for all!

I love going to the theatre! The buzz before the curtain goes up, the excitement as the play begins. We are introduced to the characters as we follow them in the events as they unfold, go through a rollercoaster of emotions and come out the other end with a happy ending, feeling invigorated from the experience unique to live theatre. 🎭💖