An old bit of future

From a text written about three years ago.

I see a world run by idiots. I see empty theatres turned into penthouse suites. I see theatres turned into libraries for the old. I see theatres for the rich enacted by the poor. I see theatres of the fantastic re-enacted by the bored. I see new forms of theatre. Athletic theatre, theatre of the inner mind, theatre of the third eye, a theatre of mediation, a theatre of the genome, a theatre of the inactive actor activating the active watcher in return for a home. I see a new breed of vagabonds going from screen to screen reliving the past days on behalf of the busy. I see a theatre of poverty re-enacting for the politically tired. I see a gated community of theatre practitioners keeping ideas live for those that keep their attention still for long enough.
I see the people demanding a new theatre of simple words and straight forward feelings. I see the judiciary performing their judgements to DJ’d sound. I see the politicians dancing to new tunes. I see the gatekeepers locked inside their own castles and the newly  liberated prisoners making them sing for their supper.

I see a vengeful theatre full of half baked complaints. I see a theatre led by anxiety urging a new form of bond that will always include itself as the main healer.I see a theatre of wind. A theatre of sea. A theatre of mountains. A theatre of clouds and stormy weather.                                                                                                                                                   I see a theatre of pornography for the home bound . A theatre turned inside and out and made to pretend it is a possible solution to the old new questions.                                             I see a post human theatre performed entirely buy animals. I see a robotic community group on tour round the regions. I see the West End full of school children performing their own musicals to babies. I see music hall recreations for artificial intelligence.

I see a heritage museum of old performers showing people round dressings and back stage. I see old coal miners performing excerpts of Billy Elliot on Broadway.                         I see a post factual post narrative post dramatic post entertainment post excitement dramaturgy of a new vacuum filling void. I see a return to old formats carried out by passers by. I see the NHS resorting to surgical procedures being carried out in costume for additional payment. I see the unemployed being used to produce electrical currents for light filled palaces.

I see a new sharing theatre. A theatre where one show uses the lights of others. I see a theatre on the run. A theatre between snacks. A theatre live streamed straight to eye-ball. I see a theatre  made entirely of applications adapted intsantly to stage. I see the theatre of donation, the theatre of pragmatism and the theatre of isolation all competing for top billing.                                                                                                                                                      I see the end of the pier making a big come back for the theatre of the lemmings twinning nicely with  the theatre of voluntary euthanasia. I see the theatre of the sick being turned into box sets for Netflix. I see a new straight to blood stream theatre carried out by eco warriors.                                                                                                                                I see the theatre of evaporation. The theatre of mirage. A theatre of dirty washing and a theatre of old cars. I see a theatre carried out in corridors for those waiting for a chance.

I see a theatre of the single light.- where actors will only be seen once over the course of their performance. I see a theatre of sounds which will only comprise of speakers filling a football pitch. I see a theatre of wildlife which will involve contentious domestication and training.

I see a theatre of the spirit. And a theatre of religion. I see a theatre of war with spectators paying good money for front seat.s I see a theatre of birth and death with optional participation. I see immersive theatre taking place in supermarkets and job centres where participants can carry out work that used to be paid. I see crowd scenes for riots needing to be booked in advance. I see event theatre lasting many years involving bureaucratic nightmares and local councils setting impossible problems for the persistent.

I see a theatre that can adapt to every single audience member who is somewhere in the street contributing their ideas to an ongoing developing script.

I see a theatre with no walls. And no ceiling. And no lights. And no amplification.                                                                               Oh – its an amphitheatre.