The criticism of theatre’s prohibitive costs and elitist framework that circulates the news every so often in a political dry spell has largely been addressed by the majority of shows now offering £10 cheap seats at the back. However, this has done little to make theatre more accessible, with the problem now running deeper than the toss-up between front row Dress Circle seats for £100 or back row seats for the price of lunch.
Following the pandemic, theatres have been facing increasing funding crises, with the RSC manoeuvring this latest art hit by stripping back performances, offering very little in the way of elaborate set design. This does not detract from the spectacle of drama at all. If anything, minimal design forces audiences to concentrate on the actors and their roles rather than the mechanics behind a disappearing banquet.
With less scenery and fewer pantechnicons, it would be cheaper and easier for productions to tour more widely and encompass smaller venues, thereby combatting the heavily London-centric aspect of current theatre and allowing those who can not easily access the tube network or M25 to appreciate great drama.
The current production of Orlando starring Emma Corrin, while succumbing to the London-only framework of new productions, does provide a positive shift towards the stage performance of novels in an attempt to make theatre more appealing towards those previously apathetic towards drama.
Most novels concentrate on a few characters that could be played by even fewer actors. The adaptation of novels to the stage would introduce people who only ever read prose to the theatre and, in the case of the classics such as Dickens or Austen, the production could be done on a cost-of-living-friendly basis with the performance, over visual stimulation, prevailing.
Furthermore, on an even more inclusionary level, there must be thousands of avid book club attendees that simply do not go to the theatre due to its highbrow associations. However, should say, Richard Osman’s user-friendly, Reader’s Choice Award-winning books make an easily adaptable UK stage tour they would, I’m sure, be hugely popular with both the theatre and non-theatre going constituency; a move which would break down the barriers between the RSC season members and the village hall book club contributors.
Theatre can often, unintentionally, foster a ‘them and us’ atmosphere between those performing and those watching. In this regard, performances may benefit from an optional 15-30 minute meet the cast/director session before the show where challenges presented by the work are discussed and how they have brought something new to the performance. Or, in the case of a new play such as the highly acclaimed Prima Facie by Suzie Miller starring Jodie Comer, introduce it, its themes, and the playwright to the audience. This informal discussion preceding the performance would also spare the solitary theatregoer from the humiliation of pretending to be engrossed in the programme while couples and families mill about the foyer.
Image Credit: “Theatre” by Jonathon Boeke is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.