A Take on the Future of Theatre

In its wake, theatre was a melting pot for all things social, emotional and political. Great tragedies, big mysteries, satirical and biographical pieces fueled the audience's urge to better understand themselves, as well as the world around them.

As the art form evolved, it went through many different phases. While performative elements are present in every culture and every society, it is important to make one distinction. The difference between theatre as an art form, and theatrical and performative elements in many other fields. Theatre as an art form consists of many activities aimed to express one's imaginative and technical skills, intended to be received and appreciated for their beauty, social relevance and emotional impact.

Ever since the ancient Greece, theatre has done exactly that. It provoked deep emotional responses from the audience through great performances from a myriad of talented actors and actresses. And there is no reason for it not to continue doing exactly that - to provoke, impress and bedazzle people all around the world.

In order to do so, theatre has continually been evolving to keep up with the advancements of civilization as a whole. Different topics and different styles characterized different epochs and stages of societies. And still, some people argue that the true theatre is dead.

Why exactly is that? It is this author's opinion that western civilization has started moving too much towards measuring success in terms of financial return. And if we judge a theatrical performance by the return from box offices, quantity of merchandise distributed and sold, and potential advertising opportunities, we're definitely not seeing the bigger picture.

Protecting the History

Although theatre has a rich history and a plethora of traditions and rules, in times of squeezed funding, it must put some thought into what comes next. Theatre makers should, therefore, not think only about safeguarding traditions and their legacy, but be more open to innovations and new ideas.

Nonetheless, theatre needs to look into the future with great caution. Currently battling the growing entertainment industry that is getting ridiculously affordable, in order to stay alive, it must adapt and continue to evolve. It must finally embrace the fact that - on stage - everything is possible.

In line with that, many theatre makers are already using available technologies to connect the audience more closely to the actual performance, and augment their overall experience. Although in recent years it still looked like a "novelty whizz-bang" kind of deal, we are beginning to see it blend more and more, creating a sensation of a heightened theatrical experience.

One might think to himself: "Isn't the future already here? Aren't we already experiencing art in more ways than we thought possible?" Cinematographers have already embraced the technological innovations many decades ago. Visual artists are incorporating more and more high tech features into their art creating interactive experiences for all our senses. Then why theatre seems to be lagging behind?

One might argue that theatre, since its inception, wasn't intended to please our senses. Its aim was to target our minds, hearts and souls. That is exactly the reason why a heightened experience in our senses might cloud and distort the desired effect. Although, one might also say that sensing the same context as the protagonist might even amplify the experience.

In the second part of this story, we are going to deal with a couple of approaches that might bring the theatre back to its audience. How to create a new experience of the theatre, how to incorporate modern technology like virtual/augmented reality in a theatrical experience, and how to create a new multimedia revolution that Shakespeare would be proud of?

A New-age Theatre

Every generation deserves its own theatrical experience. Since more and more people are using technology to see more than they see with their eyes, hear more than with their ears, and feel more than what their skin feels, artists must constantly push their limits, and also limits of their art forms, to indulge the evolving needs of their audiences. Theatre makers must also try and get a hang of this reality.

As already mentioned, cinematographers and movie makers have embraced this trend and started using technology to create more beautiful and more complex pieces of cinema art. CGI can obviously never reach the theatre in a way that it has reached the cinema screens. CGI is painting a picture over a picture. But what if we started using CGI to implement the live 3D experience? What if, in a virtual cinema play, a cast of the magic wand produced a glimmer in our headsets?

This is just one rudimentary example of how virtual reality could help augment the theatrical experience. Of course, that is just one spec of dust in a potential storm of innovations.

The Ultimate Home Theatre

When talking about bringing the theatre back to it's audience, what better way to do so than to literally bring the theatre into the homes? Home theatre is a concept universally tied to reproduction of video material, but what if actual theatre is made more available to be streamed and played in the comfort of your home theatres?

We're not just talking about an ability to stream opera and theatre online. We're talking about a full-fledged multimedia adventure. Surround sound, CGI augmented visuals, a huge number of cameras recording the show putting you exactly in the right perspective. Everything that makes a 4D or 5D cinematic experience is right there for the taking, theatre makers must just find a way to put it to use.

A New Course of Action

Of course, this is just one take on the issue. Writers, directors and producers must choose in which way their creative work should go. But they should never forget that their audience is changing with the world around them. One other tactic would be to present theatre as a leading standpoint of free thought and progressive thinking - but they would have already lost the race, before they even started.

Again, why is that? Exactly because of the technological advancements. The world we live in today has provided a large number of media outlets for an unthinkably huge number of people to showcase their knowledge, talents, expertise and thoughts. Almost every person that has internet access can share their outlook with the globe. However talented or educated they might be.

That is why the theatre needs to react. When talented people express ideas and emotions, backed by the directors and producers who enable them to do that in the best possible way, there is no YouTube channel that can compete with the impact it creates. Neither emotionally, nor spiritually, no media can compete with a live theatrical performance. They just need to figure out a way to prove that to the people once again.