ABSTRACT
Throughout the twentieth century, live performance has been challenged by the ever-increasing sophistication of recorded media. Nevertheless, direct contact between actor and audience has not merely survived but has flourished. Primarily, this is because live theatre generates a two-way interaction between actor and audience in the communication of ideas and emotions. Audience response ensures that no two performances of a production are ever identical. However, the survival of live performance is also a consequence of the way in which the traditional stage has been stimulated by the new art forms developed through film editing, electronic mixing and digital processing.
