In a period of mass isolation, the idea of “audience” seems counterintuitive. With alternative platforms for adaptation of theatre (film, interactive theatre on Zoom etc), we see a changing nature of spectatorship—from the silence before a show begins to an outburst of commentary on the live chat of online shows.

As an artform that thrives on communal experience, can theatre continue to create a psychological interaction or ideological exchange with the audience? Could this new form of spectatorship mark the beginnings of theatre’s irrelevance? Or should its measure of relevance be divorced from an audience's relationship to the work?

In a conversation with playwright and educator Michelle Tan, two theatre luminaries Tan Tarn How and Rody Vera will discuss the relevance and place of theatre as it faces the threats of commodification, commercialisation and trivialisation. Tan will be referencing his work, 𝙁𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 and 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙐𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 '𝙎' 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚 while Rody will be sharing about the annual 𝙑𝙞𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙇𝙖𝙗𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙁𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡, a platform that presents unpublished, unstaged, untried and untested works.

This session will be hosted LIVE on our Facebook page. There will be a 45min conversation, followed by a Q&A.

This event is part of an ongoing web series, Isolation.