You are not about to read another informative article about the grim consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather a story about how an ancient form of art managed to adapt to the profuse requests of today’s world. Keeping in mind that numerous public and private theaters all across the globe have been forced to either work at a fraction of their full capacity, or to completely shut down, most of them desperately needed more strings to their bow in order to survive.
Following a rush of Zoom plays, artists and fans alike have begun to seek out theater that blends in with the digital world through more heterogenous, entertaining and authentic ways. From more traditional formats such as hybridized digital-theater and podcasts, to completely unconventional ones, including life simulation games or site-specific plays, recent theatric productions offer a whole new world of practice. This opens up many doors, in the sense that many arts organizations have slowly become media companies.
One of the supporting pillars of the digital transition of performing arts has been The European Theatre Lab, which focuses on breaking through physical, cultural, economic, linguistic and public health barriers, thus making theatre widely accessible throughout Europe.
Considering the success of vaccination campaigns all over the globe, many industries have been slowly switching back to their pre-pandemic state. But will this happen to theaters, too? In order to answer this, the value of the above-mentioned digital plays needs to be put to the test: were those just lifelines in times of extreme crisis, or do they actually bring something remarkable to the table? Invariably, we can only hope that this extraordinary form of art has learned its lessons and will emerge even stronger in the near future.
By Miruna Nicolae
Comments