When reflecting on Stratford's 2011 season, I remarked that it was odd that all the productions were so sad. It was only later that I realized Stratford's productions were not only sad, but rather truthful because they presented a realistic portrayal of life-which is filled with sadness but also joy. And I think that is what truly great pieces of theatre should do-present a realistic portrait of humanity showing both the light and the dark, the beautiful and the repulsive. Great theatre allows audience members to be transported into another world, and experience aspects of life that are completely foreign from their own, and experience the joys and pains of that life, from the relative safety of their seat. From the structurally insurmountable hardships the Joads encounter in The Grapes of Wrath, to the struggles of Judas who in the end pays the ultimate price for doing what thought was right, to the idealistic but impossible quest for a Utopian existence in the kingdom of Camelot- we as the audience are able to experience lives so different from our own, but connect with the truth presented in each performance and become more whole ourselves from witnessing it. That is why I love theatre.
No comments:
Post a Comment