Some waffle about some play: Why you should write for Theatre

I’m sure everyone has spent their summer in very different ways, and had different experiences and adventures, but nevertheless one thing we all share is having those blank spaces in between everything.

Whether it’s after an exhausting shift at work and needing some much-needed downtime or having a few days off where there is nothing to do but relax and yet that doesn’t quite satisfy the restless and inattentive, we find ourselves re-watching TV shows and films we’ve seen a hundred times before, reciting lines before they are spoken by the people in the box.

Over the past few weeks, who hasn’t turned to someone next to them and asked, “What shall we do then?” or stated, “I’m bored”, only to sit in silence without an ounce of solution for the proceeding hours?

Now I’m biased, obviously, but theatre is different. Every production is unique; a live play can never be identical to the next because humans make mistakes or are simply unable to replicate an exact voice tone, facial expression, or position on stage night after night.

Not to mention the plethora of adaptations by various theatre companies, many plays still performed today have been withstood the test of time and are followed by the same fans through different renditions.

I suppose I see theatre through rose-tinted lenses, as a method of sharing literature in the way people would when the scripts were first written, before the privilege of being able to read, never mind having a television. Theatre showcases actors and actresses in their rawest form, and a story exposed through their talent.

Now, I know that’s all romanticised and, being a literature student, I am conditioned to view theatre as such, but, there is a place in the velour seats of the theatre stalls for anyone – and Manchester is rich in venues to indulge in plays of every genre.

I think it’s common for a novice theatre-goer to assume it’s all song and dance, or something incomprehensibly Shakespearean, but the reality is that there is so much more out there: horror, comedy, psychological thriller, burlesque, just to name a few. It is a type of hobby that you don’t have to be awfully familiar with in order to feel welcome to it. Theatre is for everybody.

And theatre branches new experiences all together. During my recent trip to Cornwall, I attended the Minack Theatre to watch a production of the Olivier Award-winning five-star comedy Pride and Prejudice by Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen’s original work, performed by an all-female cast.

The beautiful stone stage overlooked the sea and almost titters over it; tiered seating directs your view while the waves crash and settle on the rocks behind the production. As the night draws dim and the stars fill the sky, naturally adjusting the set, the wheels of the second act is set in motion. I don’t know anybody who wouldn’t be sold by such a beautiful scene.

If you are new to theatre and just finding your seat, or an old friend who hasn’t returned for a while and is now settling back into the stalls, we wish you the warmest of welcomes as the The Mancunion‘s Theatre Section.