What is ‘the new theatre’?
This week’s contributors all wrestle with the challenges and contradictions of creating work that is relevant, reacts to our era, and pushes the medium forwards.
Sidemart’s Andrew Shaver looks to begin his theatre anew – moving his company to Toronto the same year he was named a Montreal “Newsmaker of the Year”, Red Light District’s Ted Witzel looks at how to present Brecht today in a way it responds to our current political context, NAC English Theatre’s Sarah Garton Stanley looks to create new spaces online for theatre to take place here at spiderwebshow.ca.
What motivates these evolutions? At the core of all these articles is a drive for collaboration. Each strives to create the conditions they need to create work with other artists. By creating new structures and modes of presentation, the conditions for a ‘new theatre’, one that has the potential to reveal and inspire can be achieved.
At the very least, regardless of success at these aims, it seems to each this is preferable than more of the same.
Michael Wheeler
Editor-in-Chief: #CdnCult Times
