Introduction to part one : in search of the theatrical event

Abstract

The events described in this section are of particular relevance for the fact that although not situated at the core of theatre, they are firmly ensconced in the framework of the theatrical event. As Willmar Sauter states in his introduction to this book: 'An adequate understanding of the theatrical event includes a concept of theatre as part of a Playing Culture'. He defines the latter term as a 'radical '·, extension of the term "theatre"', which is to include 'a wide range of communications'. The term 'theatrical event', therefore, extends playing phenomena beyond the margins of theatre. As a paradigm not only does it include events outside the theatre itself, but it gives a different emphasis to the events by defining them through their 'position in the theatrical, cultural and social world at large'. The term 'theatre' which focuses on the act itself - the elements situated at the core of the performance - is juxtaposed to that of 'event', which shifts attention from the performance to different elements around it, such as 'cultural contexts'. The focus of study becomes the situation of performance, where emphasis is laid on the different types of interaction, related to theatre, providing new perspectives that allow social and cultural contexts to come to the fore. The social process is laid at the core of the event, and all theatrical elements are examined through this perspective. As the four examples of theatrical event given in this section will show, this type of study goes beyond the notion of theatre as a predefined situation marked within a limited time and space and shows how through the concept of 'theatricality', the idea of an 'event' can be expressed, evolve and change in time, space and meaning.