Rough Theatre

My rough theatre is probably my living room in my parent’s house. So Brook talks about rough theatre as being something that allows the strongest relationship between people and by no means must it be luxury. A cinema is luxury – there are big, comfy chairs with a huge screen and surround sound. A theatre is even grander, with velvet curtains, rows upon rows of sweeping seats, chandeliers, and a stage at the front which the whole room is centred around. A basketball court is luxury – the shiny wooden floor, the scoreboard in the middle, the team’s colours decorating the room and the spectator chairs which look down upon the players.

All these types of theatres are beautiful and are made for being a great place for an event. However, I don’t go home very often, and when I do, there’s nothing better than gathering the family around the television to watch a TV programme, not even necessarily a film. It may not be grand, and the TV may not be the size of a cinema screen, but it most definitely helps us to develop a stronger relationship between us. The relaxed environment allows conversation to flow when it might not otherwise at a public place and it is not as restrictive. People are allowed to talk without being told to be quiet and you don’t have to stay for the duration of the programme/film if you don’t want to. Being within your home environment with the people you have known longer than anyone else is surely a great place for a rough theatre and the most comfortable.

The other night when the tornadoes hit North Carolina, I was a little bit scared because the UK does not experience any kind of extreme weather. Ever. The worst we get is snow, which can get pretty bad but it’s not scary or generally life threatening! So, luckily the tornado passed by Wilmington. However, the lightning the storm brought with it fascinated me – if we get lightning at home, there will be a couple of flashes and it’s over. This lightning was continuous, all night, so my friends and I decided to drive down to the beach. We walked to the very end of the pier and looked out into the ocean at the sky before us. It was one of those moments in life where you feel so grateful to be in that place at that time and it really brought about the vivid relationship which Brook talks about. The sky was like the stage in a theatre as it lit up the sky, sometimes there would be bolts, other times just flashes, but it was constant. I’ve never seen anything like it. That was a pretty cool abstract rough theatre for me.