If the world’s a stage, are we the performers or the audience members?
One of my favourite places in the world is sitting in the audience of a theatre, right before the show or play is about to start. If you’re lucky, you can hear the actors back stage finding their places or the band practising their beginning notes and chords.
The last time I had the pleasure of experiencing this thrill was last year watching the ‘Book of Mormon’ at the Sydney Lyric Theatre.
I had to see this show, I needed to. From the moment I found out that such a musical existed with; white men in ties dancing around to songs about their forbidden urges, to then white ‘straight’ men dancing away from warlords in Uganda, to then ‘Africans’ cursing God through a ‘hakuna matata’ style ballad… I knew I had to see this show live. The whole point of the show is to be utterly offended and walk away liking it.
What I found strange to any other theatre experience I’ve had before was that the audience were very vocal about every little moment the writers intended to gain a reaction from. When a racist joke was made the audience were not afraid to laugh at it, at the highest volume their vocal range allowed. And when a shocking comment was made the cohort gasped in unison. I found myself becoming a viewer of the audience, aswell as the show.
Though the subject matter was very controversial, especially for those of Christian background, it was touching. Through the racial profanities, derogatory language and catchy musical tunes the show really gasped what is was to be part of a community with a belief in anything – in everything. The most important thing I took away from experiencing this show was the thrill live theatre. The most fascinating thing about live theatre is that no two shows will be the same. Yes, it’s the same choreography, the same actors, the same lines – but there is no possible way that it can be performed exactly the same each and every night. With a show like ‘The Book of Mormon’ no two audiences will react the same, laugh the same or cry the same. What I took away from the show was a unique sense of comradery with the 1,999 strangers among me in the theatre. The joy of show business.
Until we meet again. Swoon.
Hannah x
swoon 