The Observer: Theatregoers who seek a warm communal chuckle have never been so well served by the West End. Rival comedies are selling out across the capital, from Alan Ayckbourn's revived Absent Friends to Michael Frayn's vintage farce Noises Off, to say nothing of the successful reimagining of the Ealing classic The Ladykillers or the Broadway-bound smash hit One Man, Two Guvnors. And over at the National Theatre, Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer is gavotting its way across the stage of the Olivier, earning big laughs.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Avant garde theatre: has Britain lost its nerve?
The Observer: Theatregoers who seek a warm communal chuckle have never been so well served by the West End. Rival comedies are selling out across the capital, from Alan Ayckbourn's revived Absent Friends to Michael Frayn's vintage farce Noises Off, to say nothing of the successful reimagining of the Ealing classic The Ladykillers or the Broadway-bound smash hit One Man, Two Guvnors. And over at the National Theatre, Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer is gavotting its way across the stage of the Olivier, earning big laughs.
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What this article is talking about, is the many different ways that theater is progressing and adapting, and basically, how the future might look when newer ideas and artistic choices are being made. There is a fine line as to what counts as progressive and avant-garde and what classifies as vulgar and insulting. Personally, I agree with the idea that we label something avant-garde as the next trend. Theater is adaptive by nature and the next "norm" is happening right now. There was a time when it was unheard of to be even partially naked on stage and "Hair" comes along and blows that idea away. The speed at which the change occurs, however, is everything. A given audience might not be to receptive to a dance number that flashes an audience for 45 minutes straight. It really is all about how to ease a movement in. Of course, there has to be those shocking performances that occur every now and then that handle delicate subjects well and with ease. The combination of progression and shock will move us into the next phase of theater.
The thing people need to realize is that the theatre also functions as a space for artistic expression, however far from mainstream theatre it may be, as well as comfortably entertaining, money-making productions. While the theatre-going public is looking for more innovative shows to turn into the next big mainstage, I find it ironic that they would walk out of a show that is in fact new, cutting-edge and avant garde, and may be taking it a bit far. Not every show will please everyone, nor is every avant garde piece meant to please anyone. It's an experimental process, and there needs to be an audience in order for that process to continue.
The west end much like Broadway, and the film industry are finding that the avant garde movement has lost favor with the masses. Entertainment has become fluff to distract from daily life and light comedies are what people want to see in the theatre. Something life affirming and fun is what people want to see right now. Also the theatre is becoming split into mass spectacle and "high brow art". We are creating art for artists to "get" which makes people think in ways that many people simply do not want to think. This division will continue to become wider as spectacle shows become a larger market share in our industry.
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