I'm not the greatest fan of theatre, it's not so much the Thespian arts as the limitations of theatre houses themselves. I lean more towards the opinions of Carl Jung (eminent Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology) who saw the cinema as the greater experience of the two. Giving the audience far more untold possibilities of the illusion of experience. In other words a man and a few pieces of furniture on a stage cannot evoke the same impact as that of impossible views of say outer space, or the past or future, and a freedom of microscopic and macroscopic scale. That is with one historical exception, surrealist Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty. Artaud believed that theatre should affect the audience as much as possible, therefore he used a mixture of strange and disturbing forms of lighting, sound, and other performance elements. What's more he positively encouraged interaction on many levels, including members of the audience being actively involved in the narrative at hand. It's no surprise that it's taken almost a century for the world to catch up, partly due to a series of technological leaps and the cultural influence they have had over modern society.
However, for the main part these advances have been applied to the medium of film rather than theatre, there has been the occassional attempt by traditional theatre to "up the stakes" and incorporate technology into the experience, I remember a craze for holographic projections in the London scene a few decades ago. It wasn't the most successful of marriages, a commercial ideology that's more comfortable with the Las Vegas experience than traditional theatre. There are of course always those working at the forefront of innovation, some no longer tread the boards but instead perform in unusual locations such as industrial buildings and the great outdoors. Street theatre has developed in its own right over many years, becoming more and more ambitious throughout the years, more complex, and visually and emotionally striking. For me the idea of "walking through another's experience of the world" is far more of an exciting prospect than merely watching a screen, special effects pale in comparison to the intensity of all-encompassing performance art. There's one group that have taken the theatre closer to the public than any before, in keeping with Artaud's original philosophy, the apparently random and haphazard nature of their performances have really struck a chord with a far wider audience than most of their contemporaries.
Improv Everywhere
Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents. The group is based in New York City. Take a look at some of the spectacular performances of the past.
Frozen Grand Central
Star Wars Subway Car
Human Mirror
Slo-Mo Home Depot
Food Court Musical
Improv Everywhere are probably thinking up their next interactive performance as I write, visit them at http://improveverywhere.com for more details.
