The Promised Land. Audience and reception research within the context of performance-as-research.

Description

This presentation will present research concerning the theater production Het Land van Belofte (The Promised Land), a production which is based on a so-called table or dinner play, a medieval theater genre intended for performance during meals. What the characters say and do is always related to the reason for the meal and to the guests, in particular to the person or persons for whom the feast is arranged. The audience also always plays a part in the spectacle that unfolds before it’s eyes. The production was part of a performance-as-research trajectory, in which the creative process, from the first rehearsal to the last performance, was closely monitored. Goal of this process was to map opportunities and dilemmas – artistic and cultural – associated with the staging of historical plays, especially on locations where they have been (or may have been) played in the past. The play was performed on 5 different historical locations in The Netherlands and Belgium in September 2022 and small-scale reception research was executed to get more insight in audience reactions. The audience in the production takes up a specific role; it is not approached as passive recipient, but as active participant in the play, while enjoying a meal on a historical site, both elements that create very specific reception conditions for the performance, which were expected to influence the particular meanings and values that are attributed to the theatrical event by audience members to a high extent.

Period	29-Apr-2023
Event title	International Symposium on the methodology of audience research and societal functioning of theatre ‘Theatre Sociology Today’.
Event type	Seminar
Location	Budapest, HungaryShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International