ABSTRACT
On-screen, all is allowed, given the local censorship or guidelines in force, as the audience happily watches the knife slide into the body or, something else sliding in. This seems strange at first, but the more real violence, or of course sex, there is onstage, the more the theatre audience members get distracted by it. Onstage the weird conclusion is that for the audience to follow, believe, and not be distracted by the sex and violence on display, the actions have to be hidden or cheated. A slap then that does not lead to a reddening cheek but is done in a technical way allows the audience to know there was no real pain involved and will let the play continue happily. A passionate embrace that does not involve tongues allows the audience to keep inside the reality of the situation and to follow the actor's journey, unimpeded by distractions of truth.
