ABSTRACT
From televisions in living rooms to digital phones in pockets, neon billboards along the super-highways to portable laptops at roadside stalls, screens inhabit significant spaces and occupy considerable attention. This chapter considers the use of the screen on stage in three postmodern multi-media theatre performances devised by The Necessary Stage, a theatre company in Singapore. It focuses on how the presence of the screen is a reflection of contemporary urban culture and how it affects the process of experiencing live theatre. The use of the screen to enhance the capacity for socially critical theatre has involved a re-thinking of how viewers will engage in theatre literacy and the impact of mediatisation in self-apprehension. The artistry of the puppeteer bringing intricately crafted puppets to life and the synchronicity of a live ensemble of musicians as they respond spontaneously to his every cue, are as much an available part of the performance as the shadows on screen.
