The future of the theatre

To determine what will be the future of the theatre, we need to establish what its current situation is. Comparing nowadays theatre with the theatre of two or three centuries ago, we realise that nowadays theatre is in risk. Since the cinema has been becoming popular, the audience of theatre dropped.

Here arises a trouble, theatre vs. cinema. In our times, the young people move the world and seem to be that young people do not feel well with the theatre, they like more the cinema. A lot of young people think that theatre is bored and only for older people than they, others think that it is for cultured people.

This is the situation of theatre now, but if we take another source, we can change our thoughts. For example, a few days ago, I read in Levante’s newspaper that since 2004, in Valencia the theatre has increased in 40.000 spectators. This increase of audience could mean that in other two years could double it or increase a little more year by year and theatre could turn into more popular than the cinema.

People will have to realise that when they are watching a film all that they watch is artificial and all they watch in theatre is real and there is a relation between actor and audience, while in the cinema they only watch an screen, they are alone and in theatre is performed in that moment and its more natural and imperfect, like life itself.

But not only cinema is the problem, in our era people do not like thinking, and for they theatre is an activity of thinking, this is an exercise very difficult.

Our culture is a “trash culture”. A culture when serious arts are not popular. We like going to pubs and get drunk, watching violent films, however we do not like going to theatre and to enjoy it.

Another reason would be that there are a very few theatres not like cinemas. In my personal experience, I live in a village and there is a theatre but is not used. If people to my village or to other village want to go to theatre they need travel to capital city. They cannot travel many times, and they not go to theatre because it costs so much. Not only for money, also for the waste of time in travelling.

Analysing all that we have said, I think the future of theatre will increase with promotion. All things that are promotional function. If theatre enjoy money and appear in advertisements, it would be different. In our epoch, all is managed by advertisement. Cinema is in all places, such television, streets. Wherever you are, you can see a new film advertisement. If people want to watch a theatre play, they will probably find a very few information, but if people want to watch a film, all information is situated in all places.

In conclusion, the future of theatre will be in advertisement. Audience need to be persuaded and the best way is advertisement. But, thinking about this, I think that when people do the same activity, it transforms. If theatre transforms in mass phenomenon, I believe that all would change in a worse form. Theatre would not be for making the audience to think or to giving knowledge of an issue, theatre would be to keep audience amused, and I think that theatre does not pretend to be become that.