Theatre and Cricket - a shared problem

A young friend posted via Facebook a link to the following interesting on-line article.

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2016/richard-jordan-is-this-worst-west-end-audience-ever/

Its very much worth a read - and for me it showed multiple similarities in a non aligned industry - professional sport. Particularly cricket where the promotion of increasingly shorter forms of the game allied to crowd "involving" antics has led to a new genre of supporter... one that clearly brings much revenue into the game but at the same time is poles apart from a more traditional (for want of a better word) involvement and match. Rugby internationals rather than just provide a marching band at half time and pre-match now seem to "have" to provide an hour of pre-match entertainment, plus half time shows ... and I have to really ask "why" ? But then maybe I have to accept I'm just a miserable old git. It just seems such emperor's new clothes to me. Though like the author I see parallels in "reality" TV, soap operas and other instant amusement style shows which actually don't really provide anything but something to watch while filling the time before the next program comes along providing an opportunity to watch something until the next... etc. While real drama and actual comedy gets sidelined.

I suppose in theory these moves broaden the audience - which is an excellent concept especially to help theatre (and sport!) survive. But having expanded the audience what potentially happens is the "new" approach becomes the defacto approach. The audience instead of evolving towards more traditional standards of behaviour, appreciation and expectation, stays where their perceived position is and the theatre has to at least maintain that or - arguably worse still - migrates itself towards that new norm. In cricket we see the most traditional arena of the game, the test match, now have an almost mandatory audience participation level, nay competition, of the most outrageous fancy dress parties within the spectators. Arguably it doesn't affect from the actual cricket played a hundred and thirty metres away - in the same way that the burger eating audience member doesn't affect the play being performed. But they both detract possibly from some others' appreciation of it. Its hard to concentrate on a tension building hour of pressure from a spinner against a set batsman when a dozen Dolly Partons are drenching each other in beer twenty feet in front of you. Its hard to gain the full emotion of a tragic scene played out before you when the smell of chips and fried onions keeps drifting under your nose. Let alone the person who needs to go to the toilet and bar every twenty minutes.

So the once standard variation with accepted levels of interaction becomes sidelined to almost a side show, a freak show where old duffers sit and contemplate and the participants tread the boards, or play their game, in a more muted and historical environment whilst having their own existence threatened. Within the County Championship in English cricket with its two innings format, played in all whites (on the whole!), the calendar and focus has moved to season fringes and often away from weekend days so the working demographic cannot see it. English cricket is, while not abandoning its heritage entirely, moving to a situation if not already attained, or making that bedrock of its game irrelevant while more raucous and immediately entertaining variations grab the weekends, the limelight and define a whole new de facto environment for its new audiences.

Whither historical context and tradition. Welcome to the brave new world of chasing the pound signs, 3D television in effect, and being careful what you wish for.

And watch out for a dozen Dolly Partons in the upper circle, coming to a theatre near you... soon.... (c) Ian Diddams 2016