by Matt Keeley. @reallymattkeeley.
Whelp, it happened. The multi-century art form and cultural practice known as theatre is officially dead, per a respected journalistic publication. Unfortunately though, we couldn’t read why since the article was behind an online paywall.
The bold, yet definitive claim underscored the difficulty of maintaining an artistically relevant and commercially sustainable theatre company in today’s climate. At least it did for the first one and a half paragraphs before its text faded into a pop up which prompted readers to start a subscription to continue reading. Which, naturally, we did not.
We imagine the writer’s critique of the industry presented a nuanced analysis of how creative freedoms must be weighed against business interests. Or perhaps the piece suggested that the performing arts as we once knew it cannot exist under contemporary expectations. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.
As we mourn the passing of drama from the entertainment world, we can’t help but wonder what we could have done better while we had the chance. If the relationship between patron and artist could have evolved past a source of funding and passing entertainment. Presumably the author had some ideas about that in the latter end, but we regrettably exhausted all of our allotted free articles.
Reportedly six months of access could be purchased for one dollar, and then for $4.99 each subsequent month. Plus access to the publication’s website, newspaper, and exclusive app, though still with an advertisement-supported interface. And that’s a bit much.
The theatre is dead. Long live the theatre.