Investigating the Audience

Investigating the Audience Week 7 Before we even begin to evaluate who attended the theatre at any one given moment in history, we must first recognise the fact that the individual attends a performance with certain expectations, values and prejudices that have already been determined. Also, we must acknowledge the fact that a diverse collection of people constitutes an audience, so in fact we are analysing the history of audiences. Gurr, A. Playgoing in Shakespeare’s …

…is value in knowing how the physical conditions and socio-economic background of the playgoers affected the performance of a period, but how we historicise about individual expectations and attitudes is limited as we are unable to understand the state of mind and changing interpretations of a performance. Overall, what is the purpose in studying any historical account of theatre audiences when most historians only seek to generalise and ironically understand more? Does anyone really care?