While all art forms can make us feel and think, theatre offers something more immediate: the ability to see and hear, live and in front of us, the experiences of other human beings. That is what makes theatre such a powerful medium for social change, particularly when it comes to challenging stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness and the people living with mental health conditions. Live performance allows for a shared human connection as we witness a portrayal of human life unfolding in real time, deepening our ability to empathise with the characters on stage. And it is through empathy that complex issues such as mental illness can be humanised.
Now art, in any form, at its highest expression, is religious. And I don’t necessarily mean that in the spiritual sense, but in the way great art does what humanity itself aspires to do: bring us closer to absolute truth.
Source: sinemafocus.com