The Author

The Author- Tim Crouch. 2^nd Oct 2009- Royal Court

A must watch that plays which traditional perceptions of audience within theatre. Walking in you instantly know your own involvement within the piece. Two blocks of tiered seating face each other so that audience looks at audience. Sitting my self on the front row I am instantly nervous of how much I was to be involved. This is until till it was brought to my attention that it would not make any difference where I sat; just by being there I was to be part of it. This audience participation and bridging the gap between actor and audience were to be played with through out the piece.

Still now I am not entirely sure how the audience settled down in order for the performance to begin. Without any traditional theatrical cues for the start of a performance the audience hush for the beginning. The audience conforms to traditions of the theatre without any lighting or sound cues. They feed off each other to start a chain reaction of quiet. This conformity to tradition continues throughout the piece with the aid of lighting and musical cues. Tradition is embodied in the audience without being enforced in the space.

Although at first I am captivated with the audiences’ reactions to each other and the piece I find myself getting sucked into the storytelling. I forget that I myself am being watched. I am part of the piece without realising it. My belief in the story increases with its instantaneity. Where fact stop and fiction begin? This question is heightened by the placement of the actors within the audience. The gap between audience and actor is being lessoned and therefore belief increases.

Others are forced into participation with questions directed at them by one of the actors. Nevertheless they are limited in there participation with direct questions with limed answers within a story telling context. They are led to believe they are the performance with actually affecting it.

In relation to my own practice this piece makes question my relationship to an audience. How much do I want an audience to participate? Tim Crouch does this by letting the audience know there limits to there involvement through traditional theatrical devises such as storytelling, music and lighting within a non-traditional context. The audience are conditioned to react in accordance to there context while being pulled out of there comfort zone. This enables Crouch to exercise control while playing with our expectations. Could this conditioning be used within my own work to control an audience without enforcing restrictions?