ABSTRACT
The first theatre audiences who attended shamanic ceremonies, Greek tragedies, mystery plays and dramatic rituals did so for more than entertainment: these theatres were for healing purposes, for spiritual uplift, fertility, catharsis and community benefit. Entertainment was important but these events also contained symbolic processes that spoke to deeper aspects of the individual and collective consciousness of the audience with the intent of providing relief from psychological and social tensions. Modern theatre audiences seek many things in theatre and find satisfaction of various needs ranging from the erotic to the political. Is theatre still a healing art form? If the answer to this question is yes then how is theatre therapeutic and what therapeusis might an audience experience? This chapter will explore the therapeutic processes in theatre for the audience. Dramatherapists must pay attention to these processes if their work is to be effective. I will consider the following issues: the value of pleasure; the heightened awareness that theatre brings; projection and transference; catharsis; fusion and separation; the story: structure and insight; and the client and the therapist as audiences of each other and their potential for mutual therapeusis. Let us first hear from a member of a theatre audience.
