Written in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, this book brings the past, present and future of theatre-going together as it explores the nature of the relationships between performance practitioners, arts organisations and their audiences. Proposing that the pandemic forced a re-evaluation of what it means to be an audience, and combining historical and current cultural sector perspectives, the book reflects on how historical conventions have conditioned present day expectations of theatre-going in the UK. Helen Freshwater examines the ways in which developments in technology, architecture and forms of communication have influenced what is expected by and of audiences, reflecting changes in theatre’s cultural status and place in our lives. Drawing on the first-hand experiences of festival director and performance practitioner Kate Craddock, it also contends that practitioners now need to turn their attention to care, access and sustainability. Together Freshwater and Craddock argue that it is possible to draw meaningful parallels between the attachments that can develop between performance and audiences, and those we value elsewhere in our lives. Theatre and its Audiences argues that the pandemic taught us, above all, that it is possible to do things differently. Part vision, part provocation, part critical interrogation, it offers an insightful appraisal of past norms and assumptions to set out a bold argument about where we should go from here.

Written in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, this book brings the past, present and future of theatre-going together as it explores the nature of the relationships between performance practitioners, arts organisations and their audiences. Proposing that the pandemic forced a re-evaluation of what it means to be an audience, and combining historical and current cultural sector perspectives, the book reflects on how historical conventions have conditioned present day expectations of theatre-going in the UK. Helen Freshwater examines the ways in which developments in technology, architecture and forms of communication have influenced what is expected by and of audiences, reflecting changes in theatre’s cultural status and place in our lives. Drawing on the first-hand experiences of festival director and performance practitioner Kate Craddock, it also contends that practitioners now need to turn their attention to care, access and sustainability. Together Freshwater and Craddock argue that it is possible to draw meaningful parallels between the attachments that can develop between performance and audiences, and those we value elsewhere in our lives. Theatre and its Audiences argues that the pandemic taught us, above all, that it is possible to do things differently. Part vision, part provocation, part critical interrogation, it offers an insightful appraisal of past norms and assumptions to set out a bold argument about where we should go from here.

What does theatre do for - and to - those who witness, watch, and participate in it? Theatre& Audience provides a provocative overview of the questions raised by theatrical encounters between performers and audiences. Focusing on European and North American theatre and its audiences in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it explores belief in theatre's potential to influence, impact and transform. Illustrated by examples of performance which have sought to generate active audience involvement - from Brecht's epic theatre to the Blue Man Group - it seeks to unsettle any simple equation between audience participation and empowerment. Foreword by Lois Weaver