FOURTH PAPER, MY VIEW ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE THEATRE
Before that I give my opinion about the future of the theatre, let’s see briefly the last 20th century’s tendencies most well known in theatre. Some of them have been, the Theatre of the Absurd, in which the playwright shows us a world which cannot be logically explained, it has no sense and it is incoherent. Another is the Realism that tries to show us the reality criticizing it. And finally, the Expressionism that shows us the playwright‘s feelings and sensations quite exaggerated. But not only there are these but also there are many others. However, these are the best known. (“Microsoft Encarta 2001, Msn Encarta on line”)
As I see it, I think all of the tendencies are almost absolutely linked with their playwrights and his time, with everything that happens in the period that playwrights lived, such as wars, illness, natural catastrophes (earthquake, drought …), and also with the country’s policy of their country or of another country. It is reflected in the play. Like The Kitchen, Look back in Anger, … so I believe that the next tendencies will be influenced with this. I explain it, each time that the playwright writes a play, he will be influenced by some event that could happen at him or at his country or at another country, as I told before, also he will be influenced by the country policy depending on system of government since democracy is not the same that dictatorship, so if playwrights do not want that their plays be censored, they will have to do it in a resourceful manner. Nowadays in Spain does not occur it but years before it happened, for example in after the Spanish War in 1936.
Since I know some the last tendencies and I have seen some of the plays that are performed in Spain, I cannot say that the theater will be thus or in this way, because I am not a expert nevertheless, I can have some idea about what plays will are about. I suppose that plays will be about the daily life, that is to say, about the couple life, about the work etc., about some up to date event that playwrights will criticize or they will give their opinion and furthermore, I think that playwrights will do it in this way, they will be comical and with a lot of irony but also I believe that the emblematic plays of some playwrights more best known never give up performing. As for instance, some of Shakespeare, Richard III, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet , Midsummer Night’s Dream or some Classic plays .
Another point that I am going to talk is the theater against the cinema and television. I think that these types of entertainment have more success than the theater. This does not say that the theater are going to disappear, people that are interested in going, they will not go but, this new technologies hinder that people know it and somehow that they are interested in it. Theater has less audience due to all what I say before and therefore, because it has not the same publicity and information, an example may be the television programs that there are about the cinema, I think that there are many, there is not any about theater! I am quite sure that these reasons are not single. Further reasons can be in own person and in the preconceived opinion that some people have. Theater is not boring, it is like a film but the actors are performing the play while you are watching and of course films never replace a play, it is neither expensive, there are quite discounts! Also I know that some plays are very difficult to understand but the same can happen in a film.
To summarize, I have reached to conclusion that the theater could have more peak or less peak, but never will disappear since it exits for many years and years ago, 6th century before Christ, (“Microsoft Encarta 2001”) and it has disappear yet, although cinema, television or whatever type of entertainment exists.
References:
Microsoft Encarta 2001
Msn Encarta on line