Theatre goes Digital

Title: Theatre goes Digital: An International Journal of Performance Arts & Digital Media round-table discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on theatre and performance

Panelists: Kevin Brown, Maria Chatzichristodoulou, Nick Hunt, Peter Kuling

Description: One day, we were advised to stay at home. Our lives became enclosed in small intimate spaces and our social exchanges became mediated. Life unfolded on the Screen (see Turkle 1997) as never before.
The impact of Covid-19 on live theatre and performance cannot be underestimated. Venues that had presented live performances for centuries went suddenly quiet. Live performance, across the world, took a mighty hit and will continue to suffer for the foreseeable future. However, despite the devastating impact of the pandemic, people and communities have found creative ways to respond to our ‘unprecedented’ circumstances so as to carve out some positive outcomes. Some scholars and practitioners suggest that the disruption inflicted by Covid-19 could offer new opportunities for live performance using digital technologies (Mastrominico and Dean 2020; Hawthorne 2020; Nicholls 2020; Barlow 2020; Jacobson 2020; Aebischer and Nicholas 2020; Jamjoom 2020).
The International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media has been studying the intersection between live performance and digital technologies for the last fifteen years. We and our communities have studied and created digital, virtual and telematic forms of performance long before ‘theatre went digital’ due to the impact of Covid-19. This round table discussion, attached to Special Issue 18.1 ‘Theatre Goes Digital’, seeks to reflect on the future of live performance during and following this global pandemic. We will use our collective insights, knowledge and experience to offer a perspective on live performance’s entanglements with digital technologies and provide food for thought for the sector’s future survival and – perhaps – growth.