Shudder
Alison Croggon responds to the suggestion of pre-show "ads":
I know, I know. And yet... I keep finding myself thinking of Lopakhin's desperate attempts to persuade Madame Ranevskaya to save her home by building tourist cottages. She keeps brushing him off by saying "But cottages -- how vulgar." Consider me a 21st-century Lopakhin flapping my arms and begging our theatrical Lyubimovs and Gaevs to do something or the whole thing will be lost. Of course, you know what happens in the play -- Lyubimov and Gaev continue in their attitude of denial and the cherry orchard is lost. Here's a test: can we learn from theatre?
*Shudder* My local cinema doesn't show ads, and so I go there all the time. I find ads before movies offensive enough. Yes, why not? Product placement on stage, ads before, at interval, etc. So much for that breathless, magic moment when the lights go down and the entire possibility of theatre hangs in the darkness...
I know, I know. And yet... I keep finding myself thinking of Lopakhin's desperate attempts to persuade Madame Ranevskaya to save her home by building tourist cottages. She keeps brushing him off by saying "But cottages -- how vulgar." Consider me a 21st-century Lopakhin flapping my arms and begging our theatrical Lyubimovs and Gaevs to do something or the whole thing will be lost. Of course, you know what happens in the play -- Lyubimov and Gaev continue in their attitude of denial and the cherry orchard is lost. Here's a test: can we learn from theatre?
Comments
And what Alison says is true: the not-knowing of what to expect is lost, for we would know what to expect: commercials, just like everywhere else.
I reckon that's how you "save" theatre - you put on good, live theatre that doesn't cheat people, that shows them how exciting theatre can be, and how honest, and make sure young people see it. And maybe then they'll come back.