Looking Back to Look Forward—How Ancient Storytelling Traditions Can Shed Light on Contemporary Practices of Spectating

Swift, Elizabeth ORCID: 0000-0002-9566-5472 (2023) Looking Back to Look Forward—How Ancient Storytelling Traditions Can Shed Light on Contemporary Practices of Spectating. Critical Stages, 27.

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Abstract

The growth in immersive and digital performance is changing the role of the theatre audience. This essay argues that, in exploring how emergent spectatorial practices operate, there is much to be learned from storytelling cultures that pre-date Western drama. It considers ancient narrative traditions from Indigenous Australia, North America and France and explains how these diverse genres anticipate and model certain immersive practices that are increasingly familiar in the twenty-first century. The research draws on field studies undertaken by anthropologists and archaeologists and examines the use of virtual reality in contemporary immersive performance work by the companies Kaleider and Tender Claws.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Related URLs:	Publisher
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D051 Ancient History D History General and Old World > D History (General) N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
Research Priority Areas:	Creative Practice and Theory
Depositing User:	Elizabeth Swift
Date Deposited:	30 Jun 2023 12:52
Last Modified:	30 Nov 2023 16:07
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/12887

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