Theatre plays important role in society: Experts

DOHA: Theatre, which makes people challenge existing patterns, plays more important role in society today than ever before, UK-based theatre experts Willi Richards and Luis Gallo Mudarra said recently.

The duo, who teach at the prestigious Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts (RADA) in the UK, led a regional theatre workshop in Qatar for artists titled ‘Creating Chorus/Ensemble workshop’.

Speaking to Qatar Tribune, Richards spoke about the potential of theatre in assisting the Arab Spring.

He said, “Historically, theatre has played a very important and significant role in revolutions. It both unites people and makes people challenge existing patterns. But it’s also a celebration of who we are and what we do. But, sometimes, it’s suppressed or it dies for a while until there’s a need for the people to speak. Theatre essentially springs out the need for people to speak.” Mudarra, who has been in the industry for over 15 years, said that theatre is also a powerful medium to address the on-going financial turmoil in Europe.

He said, “In this digital day and age where the way we communicate and the way we experience how we manifest our desires are shifting, I think more than ever, theatre plays a very important role for different reasons. For instance, nowadays in Europe, there is an economic crisis that is actually affecting things like theatre. Should vocational practices like theatre be more encouraged, I think indirectly we will be helping the society to improve in certain aspects. The training within itself generates positivity, clarity, focus, and problem-solving, which could then later be applied in other areas.” Richards, who joined RADA in 1992 as its first artistic director for RADA Enterprise, debunked insinuations that theatre is a dying industry today.

“Theatre is not a dying industry. I think it is doing all sorts of things around the world. In some places it’s very vibrant. In other places it has quiet periods.

Those quiet periods of course are sometimes the result of government suppression and censorship, because theatre is very powerful.

Sometimes, you have a very vibrant commercial theatre such as in London.

We also have a vibrant subsidised theatre. In Kuwait, there’s quit an active theatre culture. In Yemen, we have actors, there’s no theatre culture at all. But I’m sure those balances will change with the passage of time.

Theatre is a unique thing, and it’s global. Its audiences are affected in a way that television and digital media cannot achieve,” Richards added.

On what makes a good theatre actor, Mudarra said, “There is a lot of training that people can undertake in order to get better at something. I think the passion with which people embrace that training is something that has to come from within. For me, it’s the most fundamental aspect. If you want to be there, you will get better because you want to be there and because you are passionate about it”.


Source: Qatar Tribune