The Empty Seat

Peter Brook’s universally renowned, ground-breaking book ‘The Empty Space’, holds a special place in the hearts and minds of nearly every theatre practitioner in the world. Even for those that have not read it, there is still an awareness of it - such is the impact that it has had on the world of theatre. Tragically, the same must be said for the book that found its way into all our lives in 2020, ‘The Empty Seat’, written and illustrated by COVID 19, published and distributed by governments the world over. The repercussions have been devastating; its effect on theatre has been as powerful as Brook’s ‘The Empty Space’. The big difference, though, is that where Peter Brook’s visionary insight sought to elevate the medium of theatre, ‘The Empty Seat’ has, and continues relegate the world of theatre to a faded, distant memory.

Let’s face it, theatre has been struggling to hold its own for a long time, more so since the onslaught of social media and platforms such as Netflix and Showmax muscling their way into our lives. Locking down theatres completely and then continuing to restrict audience numbers after the worst of the virus has come and gone, is akin to throwing us into the ocean, naked and smeared in blood. As if we didn’t have enough to contend with! Theatres are sacred spaces, they live and breathe history, they present and imagine new ways of looking at the world through the stories that play out on their stages.

The medium of theatre is not just a lifeline for those who live their lives a little left of centre. It is not just the actors, dancers, singers, engineers, technicians, set, costume, lighting and sound designers, stage and production managers, playwrights, composers and producers who are suffering from this great injustice, this callous turning away. I believe that society in general is far poorer for not being allowed the opportunity to be challenged, poorer because hearts and minds and souls are being denied access to a platform that transports these often, intangible parts that exist in all of us, to a place, or an idea, where, even if it’s just temporary, forces us to ask questions of ourselves, the world, and our role in it.

The great irony is that I am using the very platform that is contributing to the theatre’s demise to illustrate its predicament. To quote Peter Brook: ‘a large part of our excessive, unnecessary manifestations come from a terror that if we are not signalling all the time that we exist, we will in fact no longer be there.’

Our most effective means of doing this have been undermined, they have been cast aside and left to fade into obscurity. Brook’s observation is still profoundly true but the medium that we now use has shifted; social media is now the preferred platform to confirm our existence. What’s more, we can do it from the comfort of our homes. The problem with this is that we are unaware of how invested or committed or even how present, if at all, our audiences are. We throw our opinions and beliefs out at the world knowing that we have the power to ignore or delete those that don’t hold our world view. It is here that society stands to lose the most.

Theatre is now, not last night and not tomorrow or next week. As an audience member there are very few distractions, there is no option to pause, you and those around you are committed to witnessing an event, in real time. The story that is about to unfold won’t happen in the way you are about to experience it again, ever. From the actors to the audience members, every single person in the building will have woken that day in a frame of mind that won’t be repeated in exactly the same way again; the way it is received will be determined by influences and experiences unique to that day. This is what makes live theatre exceptional.

Theatre is confrontational, the seats that make up an auditorium are not just wood and metal and fabric. Once occupied, they bring opinion and presence and most of all, an energy that allows an exchange of emotions between the actors and the audience. It is unique in that it is a shared experience between strangers. A great piece of theatre introduces an energy into a room that can never be repeated; it’s at its best when there are no empty seats.

As theatre practitioners we can’t survive on the echo of an empty room, we don’t want to hear our own voices ricochet back at us. We thrive on the energy that we create and stimulate in others. The theatre experience brings challenge, the vulnerability on both sides is heightened. As the performer takes the stage, he opens himself up to confrontation, the narrative of his character lays down a gauntlet and the audience is forced to deal with it in the moment. There is no ‘delete’ button, no ‘unfollow’ button, one has to suck it up and process it in its rawest state. There is no quick exit. Dealing with complex issues in the here and now can be transformative and enlightening - this is what makes theatre so powerful and the loss of it so devastating. The empty seat is a metaphor for our times, it suggests a dark, empty, soulless existence for future generations and we ignore it at our peril.