ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on direct experience of three modern reconstructions and locates SNP within a long-standing tradition of reconstructing historical theatres. It argues that reconstructions are compromised: scant historical knowledge makes them at best approximations; their unusual configurations are not suited to contemporary production practices; and relations between theatre companies and academics, keen to learn about original staging practices, are generally not aligned.
Despite such concerns, I argue that reconstructions are worthwhile and that practitioners can benefit from facing the challenges presented by unusual performance spaces and the ‘gaps’ between them and their progenitors. Academics, rather than collaborating in full productions, will benefit more from workshopping scenes in these spaces; full productions should concentrate on making vibrant contemporary theatre rather than serving as research engines.
In particular, the distinctive layout of the SNP offers potential for exploring the impact of ‘intra-audience mutual visibility’ in shared light, but the final arbiter of success of such spaces lies in the quality of the work done rather than in the edifice itself.
