Theatre Essay

At large, theatre as an art form has always been a hybrid, an amalgamation of other artistic endeavours. Arguably after all, the true essence of what actually constitutes theatre is the human voice and spoken text; an actor’s live presence in an empty space: a stage. But if we were to consider theatre on the whole we would find that actually, there is often a lot more going on than these basic qualities that theatre embraces. When we think of theatre, we cannot help but think about the connotations that have become synonymous with it, for example a cluster of lights illuminating an intricate set on a grand stage and more recently perhaps, a large screen with projected images on it. Of course, these production elements are almost seen as a necessity in order to create a dramatic production, however we must remember that they are merely borrowed theatrical tools working towards the remediation of theatre.

Being at the forefront of the latest innovative technology, it comes as no surprise that the use of screen technology within theatre appeared soon after the invention and rise of cinema. At the same time the avant-garde movement was taking off with theatre practitioners looking for new and innovative ways to radicalise theatre; new ideas aiming to push the boundaries of the status-quo. This was to be realised as a much needed step in the right direction as cinemas were attracting greater audiences than theatre and black and white television screens were becoming more and more prevalent in the homes of those who could afford them. It would seem that in order to compete with the upsurge of cinematic screenings, theatre would have to live out the saying ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ by borrowing yet another devise and theatrical...

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...e language of purely text based theatre that deters audiences away from theatre auditoriums; such performances often cause ambiguity amid the understanding of a spectator. The decoding of medial representations is arguably much more simple, the gaps can now be bridged between live spoken text on stage, visual imagery and an understanding that supposedly is a lot more guileless. Let us consider once more the multimedial forms of The Shankly Show as an attempt to popularise theatre. The Shankly Show incorporates a wide range of technological applications throughout to enhance the experience for spectators, it suitably draws audiences in to the footballing realm and gives one a real flavour of archaic Liverpool. Some of the notable techniques used include: live video relay or feeds, projected video recordings, archive film footage, CGI and green screen technology