ABSTRACT
Let’s rehearse the etymology. Theatre. From the Greek: θέᾱτρον, a place for viewing; θεᾶσθαι to behold; θέα sight, view; θεατής a spectator. Its cognate? Theory. Ancient Greek θεωρία, action of viewing, contemplation, sight, spectacle; post-classical Latin theoria, speculation, contemplation. Theatre has been, from its very “beginnings” (in establishment history, at least) the place of seeing, speculation, and contemplation. In the Greek classical ideal, which has served historically as a cipher for nationalism and xenophobia, theatre is where seeing is yoked with knowing—a foundation of Western European metaphysics and epistemology.
