Talking About Liveness: Responses of Young People in the Theatrespace Project

Abstract This paper draws on analysis of interviews with over 500 young people who attended theatre performances as part of the Australian TheatreSpace project. The paper focuses on one small but critical aspect of the larger project. Asked what they valued in a theatre experience, a significant number of young people spoke about liveness. The paper addresses the question: what are the key points/ideas about liveness that we can learn from listening to the young people? Our discussion includes a consideration of: the comfort or discomfort of presentness; performer vulnerability, risk and uncertainty; proximity to the live action; perceptions of realness; a sense of relationship with the actors; and intensity of engagement. A brief consideration of the implications for teachers and theatre providers concludes the paper.