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BLOG: Why Theatre? – Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
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Our artistic director, Brendan Healy, offers some
thoughts on the question “Why Theatre?”.
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With each production that I create, each new play that I workshop, and each play that I read, I begin with the question, why
theatre? Allow me to clarify: We live in an age of consumerism, where the arts are continually asked to justify their existence. My
question “why theatre?”, however, has NOTHING to do with validating the worthiness of an artistic response to anti-humanist
political agendas. I refuse to engage in discourse around issues such as “the economic and social values” of art, the “creative
economy”, and so on. I ask myself “why theatre?” because the attempt to answer that question always connects me to the core
human impulse behind what we do.
Over the years of asking myself “why theatre?”, I have come to identify seven primary human needs[1] that I believe the theatre
satisfies. In Hebrew, the word seven is from a root word meaning to be “complete or full”. I believe that the theatre, in meeting
these seven needs, completes our humanity.
1. Interdependence: From the rehearsal process to the experience of live performance, the theatre presents the world with
a working model of cooperation, collectivity and community. This makes the theatre essential to a world where the
pursuit of individual wealth and consumerism is leading us to economic, environmental and cultural collapse. The theatre
provides citizens with a space to experience the joy of togetherness.
2. Empathy: One of the most powerful pieces of theatre that I have seen was a show entitled Rwanda 94 created by a
group of survivors from the Rwandan genocide. Over six hours, these survivors, witnesses, musicians and actors told the
horrific story of that nation’s encounter with mass murder. The physical presence of these people who had faced
unspeakable darkness prevented me from dissociating myself from the experience; I could not hide behind the protective
veil of television or film. I left the theatre transformed. This show truly taught me that the proximity, ‘liveness’ and
immediacy of the theatre allow us to directly experience the world of another person and to learn – intellectually and
emotionally – about others. The theatre taps and develops our capacity for empathy.
3. Entertainment: One cannot ignore or underestimate the power of entertainment in the theatre. We all seek diversion
from the normal patterns of our lives. In being entertained, we escape our daily situations and gain some perspective on
our existence. A great piece of theatre that combines entertainment with artistry, intelligence and complexity reveals truth
about the human condition and inspires us to become better people.
4. Spectacle: As humans, we need to believe that things are larger than us. The unique power of spectacle in the theatre
lies in the fact that the scale of theatre is limited by the scale of our bodies and that the theatrical event occurs live, in
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BLOG: Why Theatre? – Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
real time, in front of our very eyes. When spectacular things happen on stage, the stunning potential that lies within our
own corporeality is revealed.
5. Ritual: As a young boy, I did not go to church for god – I went to sit, kneel and stand with a group. The repetition of the
group event gave my life meaning by creating a sense of familiarity and order to my existence. Similarly, the communal
and ceremonial nature of the theatre event fulfills a profound yearning for ritual in our lives. I seek to honor this aspect of
the theatre at every juncture of the creative process, from rehearsals to performances.
6. Engagement of the imagination: Years ago, I created a children’s play. At one point in the show, a character delivered
a short monologue that recounted the story of a pirate ship sinking after being attacked by a whale. It was simply told
with the usual gusto found in children’s theatre. After each performance, there was a talk-back where the kids were
asked to share their favorite moments in the show. Almost always, a child would talk about the moment when the whale
came on stage. We never actually had a physical representation of a whale in the show – the actor only spoke about it
during his monologue. This taught me a valuable lesson. Theatre does not happen on stage, it happens inside the
audience’s head. Great theatre invites an audience’s creative participation by inciting them to build a world around what
is happening on stage with their imagination. The theatre allows the audience to be active creators in what is being
presented to them as opposed to simply being passive receivers.
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7. Transformation: At its most elemental, theatre is about transformation. The actor is transformed by the character. The
character is transformed by the plot. The audience is transformed by the experience. In theatre, we find confirmation that
human transformation is possible.
I often choose plays that venture into uncomfortable or unknown territory. I am driven by the desire to find new approaches to
performance, to present alternative points of view, to question established norms and to push boundaries. As I delve into the
unfamiliar, this list is my anchor. It reminds me that the pursuit of theatrical innovation is, in fact, an attempt to reengage with the
original power of the theatre and to renew this gloriously ancient form. The original definition of the word “radical” is relating to,
or proceeding from a root – this is my work as a director.
[1] Special thank you to Anne Bogart for inspiring the format of this list and thank you to the countless mentors, thinkers and collaborators who have led
me to these notions.
-–-–-–-–-Brendan is the artistic director here at Buddies. You can follow him on twitter at @Brendan_Healy
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BLOG: Why Theatre? – Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
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Burke Campbell · Toronto
I have been watching the Canadian theatre scene for the past 40 years. While many express the worthiness of
theatre, few can explain why Canada creates few theatre producers who can take successful plays to a larger
audience, even when there is a clear demand. Until this changes, theatre will remain an art form that caters to a small
following, as ticket prices inch higher and higher, afforded mostly by the old.
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