Technological Takeover?

Lyn Gardner, theatre blogger for the 'Guardian Unlimited', raises the ever timely question, “Does contemporary theatre depend too much on technology? Has technology now become the show rather than servicing it?” She’s in the firm belief that tech is taking over. This in contrast to Robert Lepage’s ‘World Theatre Day’ message that says we all need to embrace technology as part of theatre’s natural evolution. (Funny enough, Gardner brings up Lepage’s Edinburgh Festival open night that had to be cancelled because of computer problems.)

No doubt, this question will continue to press upon the theatrical community as technology continues to advance. It’s not so much should we utilize the technology, but how can we best use it to our advantage? I think the both of them are correct. We do need to be open and accepting of new ideas and resources, but at the same time we need to make sure that the tools are serving the show. Theatre is primarily the relationship between the actor and the audience, and nothing should distract from or prevent that connection being made. Technology can either help or hinder our ability to tell the story and we shouldn’t lose sight of that.

International Message by Robert Lepage

There are a number of hypotheses on the origins of theatre but the one I find the most thought-provoking takes the form of a fable:

One night, at the dawn of time, a group of men were gathered together in a quarry to warm themselves around a fire and tell stories. All of a sudden, one of them had the idea to stand up and use his shadow to illustrate his tale. Using the light from the flames he made characters appear, larger than life, on the walls of the quarry. Amazed, the others recognized in turn the strong and the weak, the oppressor and the oppressed, the god and the mortal.

Nowadays, the light of projectors has replaced the original bonfire, and stage machinery, the walls of the quarry. And with all due deference to certain purists, this fable reminds us that technology is at the very beginnings of theatre and that it should not be perceived as a threat but as a uniting element.

The survival of the art of theatre depends on its capacity to reinvent itself by embracing new tools and new languages. For how could the theatre continue to bear witness to the great issues of its epoch and promote understanding between peoples without having, itself, a spirit of openness? How could it pride itself on offering solutions to the problems of intolerance, exclusion and racism if, in its own practice, it resisted any fusion and integration ?

In order to represent the world in all its complexity, the artist must bring forth new forms and ideas, and trust in the intelligence of the spectator, who is capable of distinguishing the silhouette of humanity within this perpetual play of light and shadow.

It is true that by playing too much with fire, we take a risk, but we also take a chance: we might get burned, but we might also amaze and enlighten.