By Aiswarza Saha
Breathing
in a world that is racing toward virtual realities, AI and immersive
technology, Theatre is one of humanity’s oldest art forms and until now it’s
still innovating, evolving and reconfirming its’ power in a way that is totally
unexpected.
The origin of theatre lies in ancient, pre-verbal ritual and
story-telling in prehistoric times when tribal societies expressed collective
experiences and myths through sounds, body language and ritualistic actions
around campfires, resembling a primitive form of acting. Around the 6th
century BCE in ancient Greece; those prehistoric activities developed into
organized performance, formalized by the dithyrambic honoring Dionysus in
Athens. The use of chorus and mask, distinct genres like tragedy, comedy, satyr
plays; those we consider as the foundation of Western Drama techniques evolved
into scripted plays performed in amphitheaters by this Athenian tradition. And
till the 21st century, theatre is maintaining its’ blending tradition
with technology and reshaping itself to remain relevant and revolutionary.
Derived from ancient Italian culture, first formed theatre
concept, Amphitheatre was a circular or oval open –air venue with tiers of
seats that rise in curved rows around a central open space for performances,
sports and entertainment. But today theatre concept is emerging; as much about
innovation and interaction and in the performance also.
Theatre is being reborn, not as a
relic of candlelit stages, but as a living architecture of light, code, and
consciousness. The ancient word, once carved into the breath of actors and the
hush of an audience, now dissolves into data streams, holographic gestures, and
algorithmic empathy. The stage no longer holds boundaries; it extends into
neural interfaces, augmented dreams, and shared digital hallucinations. In this
new theatre, narrative is not performed at the
audience. it is co-created with them. Viewers
become sensors, storytellers, even characters, their emotions feeding adaptive
scripts that rewrite themselves in real time.
As we are living in a world that
is totally dependent on technology, theatre is also assembling with technology
and creating the rise of techno-theatre. In London, audience dons VR headsets
to witness a dystopian future play unfold around them. In Tokyo, a robot
performs monologues alongside human actors, AI-generated scripts challenge
performers with lines that change in real-time responding to audience reactions
captured by sensors. Techno-theatre is where performs art intersects with
technology pushing its’ boundaries. Companies like The Royal Shakespeare and
Punchdrunk have experimented with motion capture, projection mapping and
AI-generated narratives that rival the most advanced video games. In Sleep No More, the walls of conventional theatre
fall away. The audience, masked and anonymous, wanders through dim corridors,
haunting ballrooms, and candlelit bedrooms. There is no stage, only a vast
dreamscape inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Here,
narrative is no longer linear but fragmented.
With AI language models entering
the creative space, playwrights are beginning to collaborate with machines.
like Orphée | L’Amour | Eurydice transforms the ancient Greek myth
into a multidimensional journey through live performance, virtual reality, and
electronic sound. The audience is divided into groups like some follow Orpheus
through a live performance others follow Eurydice through VR headsets that
reimagine the underworld as a fluid, digital landscape. The result is a theatre
that exists across realities: the physical stage merges with the virtual, and
emotion finds form through technology.
This work reveals the
extraordinary shift toward hybrid theatre,
where myth and code become collaborators. The story of love and loss
unfolds through augmented space, merging the sacred intimacy of opera with the
infinite possibilities of digital design. It is both theatre and simulation, a
poetic fusion where ancient voices echo through virtual corridors, and the
audience inhabits the boundary between the real and the imagined.
Scenes from Orphée | L’Amour
Generally it seems that AI is replacing writers, but AI is
being used as a creative tool. AI is helping to generate unexpected dialogue
that is connected to classic texts. Writers are also using it as a creating
tool to stimulate alternate realities.
Theatre is not innovating technically, it’s also responding
politically and socially. It is an era of climate anxiety and political
polarization and in this crucial time, theatre has become a great medium for
awareness and valid information. Productions now integrate climate-modeling,
real-time data and even protest footage into their story that is important for
spreading effective information.
It is an age that is dominated by the virtual existence. Despite
the noise of Netflix, TikTok, Snapchat and virtual concerts and shows, theatre
still persists. Theatre offers real people and real time, creating an
unrepeatable moment that reminds us of our bodies, our breath, our culture and
our real life existence. It invites us to feel comfort and discomfort, nemesis,
catharsis, awe, joy, sorrow from across the room, from stranger’s gasp, from a
performer’s sweat and undeniable effort.
The future of Theatre is unscripted. It is ancient, analog
and algorithmic. The stage may change, the tools may evolve but human
connection through story and eventually theatre remains. Even though theatre is
facing so much ups and downs but it’s not dying soon. This unpredictable
journey just initiated.
References:
- https://www.worldhistory.org/article/814/theatre-of-dionysos-eleuthereus/
- https://www.thisisathens.org/antiquities/theatre-dionysus
- https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/aug/14/orpheus-and-eurydice-review-gluck-opera-acrobatics-eif
- https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/mar/31/sleep-no-more-avant-garde-theatre-new-york
The article is written by Aiswarza Saha, Adamas University
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