Angol
Audiences are evolving. Spectators of the future will engage with new forms of performance in ways unimaginable to theatre makers today. To understand what happens next in the ever-fluctuating relationship between artists and their audience, Practical Spectating looks into the distant past.Drawing on anthropology and archaeology, the book examines how emerging forms of immersive, participatory and intermedial practice have deep roots in ancient narrative customs, many of which have been overlooked or erased. From Palaeolithic caves to digital theatre, from the deserts of Australia to VR installations, Practical Spectating reveals synergies between ancient cultural practices and new dynamics between performers and audiences in contemporary performance. It offers insights into the mysterious and mercurial relationships between the generation and reception of art and proposes fresh ways of thinking about the creative practice of spectating.
"This is one of the most exciting academic books I have read in a long time, and will make a superb contribution to discourse around spectatorship and to the study of participatory performance"
James Frieze, Liverpool John Moores University.
