The Future of the Theatre
Future of Theatre from my point of view
This is the last paper and where I must give an opinion, my opinion about future of the theatre. First, I will give a definition of word “Theatre”, then I will do a summary about Theatre, tendencies have moved the world during the latest years with its most important authors. Finally, my view, having already seen evolution (although over or it does not enough) of theatre during this time.
Theatre comes from Greek word Qeatron which means spectacle place. Its definition as we can read in Wikipedia (web page- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre), the free encyclopedia on-line: “is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. In addition to the standard narrative dialogue style, theatre takes such forms as opera, ballet, mime, kabuki, classical Indian dance, Chinese opera, mummers' plays, and pantomime.” That is to say is an eternal art, which has existed since practically world origins and does not ended yet.
One of the most important of authors is William Shakespeare, his works have been translated into every major living languages, and his plays are continually performed all around the world. He deals themes of things whose people could be worry perfectly, the fate, the love, the betrayal, the death, the lust, the power, the egotism… Themes about anyone can think or be worry, themes that follows the men eternally. This is the reason about his exit, about his permanence until now.
Molière is another recognized and interpreted author; he is considered the chef of the “Comédie Française”. He stands out to be merciless wit pedantry of the false wise, lie of ignorant doctors, pretentious rich burgesses… His main objective is to make to laugh honest people. We can read that and more about this author in http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moliere and in http://www.site-moliere.com/.
After we found Modernism, before are Baroque and Neoclassicism, appears during the major part of XIX century. Inside this is Britannic Edward Gordon Craig, German Max Reinhardt, French André Antoine and Russian André Antoine. Modernism makes up for absolutely freedom of the establishment by dialogues with traditional forms, the new technical possibilities would change theatre.
After it is Realism where is Ibsen who caused new rebirth of theatre, he breaks the ideal of morality that there was until now. George Bernard Shaw is other author who was influenced by the first besides Marx ideology. Their plays talk “about genetic illness, inefficacy of marriage like religious and social institution, and women rights”. Also between two tendencies is Oscar Wilde inside Victorian period. In Postmodernism, we found philosophers Nietzsche and Freud, who will influence in the author’s thoughts and in their plays.
First World War ends bringing with it Expressionism, a tendency that reflects the cruelty and horrible acts occurred in this frightful war. Here we can emphasize in Bertold Brecht and in his plays “Madre coraje”, “Galileo Galilei”. We cannot forget Italian Pirandello.
Second World War originated appearance of Theatre of the Absurd; here there are authors so important nowadays as Kafka, Beckett and Ionesco. These had serving for latest authors as Harold Pinter, John Osborne, Orton and Abascal, who reflects life society, a society that do not understand all is happening or maybe we cannot understand.
The best, maybe the consolidation of theatrical companies, which begins to appear in 1960 decade as La Fura dels Baus. But television has absorbed many typical forms of entertainment, the most important now could be musicals, and the new art of theatre is the”Performance Theatre”. We can define as “one's artistic conception as shown by the way in which something such as a dramatic role or musical composition is rendered: execution, interpretation, reading, realization, rendering, rendition.”, as we can read in http://www.answers.com.
Now, there are problems because theatre is not so popular as a few years ago, when people done many different things for amusing as to go to theatre and amusing freely. Now majority of people only see television, neither read a book, neither go to mountain, neither many things, different things for doing. It is certain there many new machines for listening music, playing videogames…, and we needs time to do it. In addition, I think to have television near, in the house without necessity of moving, to spend money in a play that you do not know if will be good or not, and little is talked, are reasons for people do not go to theatre. Comfort and economy besides little publicity are big reasons for people. The good is when people go to theatre this begins to like it. It is a pity people are passive.
As soon as I can see, Theatre is an essential art that serves for showing to world, life in it is living, for doing to laugh and to think about surround us, about everything we always can see because we do no want or cannot. It is reflect of the moment world is passing, and the thoughts we can have, their questions and their answers we can make us self. Our worries, as much dailies and nearest as world and distant. For that Theatre will not disappear, because is the mirror of our world. In a future not very far, themes of theatre could be actual wars, the human how he feels alone in this enormous world, his impotence or help or doing anything for others persons, his strangeness here, and political, social, life, and nature’s worries.
Bibliography:
-http://es.wikipedia.org
-http://es.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552006_1/Teatro_y_arte_dramático.html
-http://www.site-moliere.com/.
- http://www.antorcha.org/liter/brecht.htm
Thanks very much to my friend Manuel Cisneros Guillén, an excellent photograph and chess player who has helped me, and for you for give us more time, something that you should not have done. Thanks.