Performing the Future:
Theatre at the Crossroads of Crisis and Renewal
Savas Patsalidis*
We live in a time in which tragedy is no longer the sole domain of the stage; it unfolds daily in the fabric of history, through war, displacement, ecological collapse and unresolved trauma. As such, the classical notion of tragedy as an art form has shifted: it now confronts us as lived experience, not as metaphor. In this landscape, theatre cannot afford to be detached. It becomes a site of inquiry, a fragile but potent space where we dare to ask the most urgent questions about complicity, responsibility, and the limits of healing in the aftermath of violence.
Tragedy today is not about resolution but confrontation. It demands that we bear witness, that we question systems and histories that perpetuate suffering, and that we take seriously the risks and ethical burdens of such questioning. Theatre/Performance, in this context, is not escape; it is encounter. It becomes a medium through which artists, audiences and communities engage with the painful textures of our time, exploring how climate breakdown, war and societal fractures are not separate phenomena but interwoven crises. The act of questioning through theatre/performance holds transformative potential, not as catharsis, but as critical resistance.
“But how do we tell the story of a changing planet in ways that mobilize rather than paralyze? How do we acknowledge grief and fear without collapsing into fatalism? How do we shift the paradigm from technocratic solutions to eco-biological as well as psychocultural transformation?”, the guest editors of the special topic «Performance, Climate and Conflict Transformation», Roberta Levitow, Chantal Bilodeau and Aikaterini Delikonstantinidou, aptly wonder. “It seems we need new stories that might help us live differently,” they answer back, and note that “performance, with its capacity to tolerate ambiguity, hold paradox, embody both critique and hope, and forge imaginative solidarities, however embattled, is uniquely positioned to intervene.”
This special topic does exactly this: it “explores the role of the performing arts, and theatre in particular, in engaging with this entangled crisis, where environmental degradation and sociopolitical conflict are co-constitutive forces.” Within this broader spirit of exploration and awareness, the three editors have selected nine texts, each which contributes a unique perspective through the lens of particular themes and aims.
Starting from a specific place and focused theme, each text show how the performing arts “engage with the realities of the climate crisis while also offering pathways for repair, renewal and even justice.” The nine works are interconnected in that they all address the following questions: “What unique role can live performance play in catalyzing climate awareness, fostering resilience, transforming conflict? How can the theatrical event, ephemeral and situated, embodied and metaphorical, create spaces of emotional resonance, ethical reckoning and political engagement?”
However, the focus on cultural crisis is not limited to the special topic section; this concern is also addressed in other articles across the issue. Clearly, the fragile relationship between humanity and nature is not limited to environmental problems and thus requires a more holistic response from the theatre community.
As Executive Director of the European Theatre Convention (ETC), Heidi Wiley, notes in her contribution, theatres can take on a leading role to build empathy and community cohesion, especially in settings where social stratification and division are present. The current issue offers readers many thought-provoking texts on this subject. The discussion in “Community Theatre in Colombia: Origins and Trajectories” by Sarah Ashford Hart and Janneth Aldana highlights the significance of community theatre as both an artistic and political expression; the contribution “Before and After – War or Peace” by Johannes Birringer reflects on the politics of memory, trauma, and artistic responses to historical and ongoing wars. In“Crafted Figures Make German” Loren Kruger, taking as her reference the work of the acclaimed puppeteer Nikolaus Habjan, comments on how his marionettes convey vivid stories of violence that are especially relevant today. In his article, Ali Mansouri discusses the violence of censorship and the suppression of free thought and creativity, focusing on underground theatre in Iran at a moment when Iran is making international headlines not for its theatre but for the war raging in the Middle East.
Other texts in this issue also focus on works and situations which shape the contemporary cultural and theatrical zeitgeist. For example, Huiyue Wen and Li Zeng explore “how Shakespearean drama has sparked students’ imagination and creativity, inspiring them to connect classical works with contemporary social realities”; Maria Hamali and Maria Sehopoulou discuss Stefan Larsson’s staging of Ibsen’s Little Eyolf in Sweden and Cyprus, arguing that “cross-cultural collaboration reveals how canonical theatrical texts acquire renewed relevance when refracted through different linguistic and cultural contexts.” David Roesner’s article addresses music, history, and politics and how they interrelate; Farah Ali and Majeed Mohammed Midhin explore the body as a surface inscribed with politics; and Kurniasih Zaitun, Eko Supriyanto, and Yusril examine the theatricality of fake doctors in Indonesia as a social and political phenomenon.
Issue #31 also features essays covering numerous festivals, in Varna, Iasi, Timisoara, Wuzhen, among others, four interviews, from Australia, the Philippines, India and China, and 12 performance reviews, including contributions by new reviewers who participated in the conference organized by the International Association of Theatre Critics in Bangkok in April 2025.
Altogether, 51 texts, 12 of which are co-authored, are presented in the current issue; they explore a number of thematic issues and span a wide geographical area which includes, among others, South Africa, the Philippines, South Korea, the Americas, Australia Germany, Iraq, Cyprus and Egypt.
Taken as a whole, the texts reflect a fragmented landscape in great need of connecting links which would bring communities closer together and thereby strengthen the social role of theatre. The loneliness brought on by misuse of technology has become pandemic in scale. A key role of theatre is to confront social isolation by creating a gathering place, a great marketplace, a classical agora where everyone is welcome, and to some extent, this result is unfolding. Through their choices and approaches, contemporary theatre communities and scholars promote survival strategies and adopt cross-border, cross-societal philosophies and positions, showing how vital theatre is in an era wracked by wars, poverty and untrustworthy leaders. They face the pressing problems of the world, exploring solutions that are accessible, friendly and above all bold. Just as tragedy is a test of limits, writing about theatre should also encompass a continuous search for and testing of potential and possibilities, a probing into new fields and new ways of responding to the challenges that societal developments bring. These efforts will lead us to a free theatre, a theatre that is always planning ahead, seeking truth in a world that resists its insights, doesn’t understand its purpose and perhaps even doubts its existence. Oedipus is a striking example of someone living on the edge between truth and post truth. He thinks he knows the truth but is tragically mistaken; once he learns the truth, he blinds himself, destroying the very organ he believed led him to the light.
This volume has come to life through much effort and, above all, a great deal of love and care from everybody involved, including editors, authors, volunteers. This issue represents our small contribution to the field, and we sincerely hope that the contents resonate with your thoughts and choices.
To continue our efforts and keep this project alive, I would like to encourage those interested in having their articles, performance and/or book reviews, interviews, case studies and empirical research considered for publication to contact the editor of the respective section (click here).
Once a manuscript has been peer-reviewed and recommended for publication, it undergoes further language copyediting, typesetting and reference validation, following the latest guidelines of the MLA style sheet, in order to provide the highest publication quality possible.
Submissions should not be published earlier or be under consideration for publication elsewhere while being evaluated for this journal. They must also adhere to the style and ethics of the journal (for more on the journal’s Publication Ethics/Procedure please click here).
If you have any other queries about the journal, or if I can be of help with anything, please do not hesitate to contact me (spats@enl.auth.gr).
NOTE: The Special Topic of our Winter issue (#32) is: Towards Inter-Asia Theatre Studies: Modernity, Historical Conditions and Changing Ways of Seeing.
Guest editors: Jen-Hao Hsu (Walter), Sir Anril Tiatco and Deniz Başar
Publication date: Late December 2025.
Please forward the link (www.critical-stages.org) to anyone who may be interested. Thank you.
As always, Critical Stages/Scenes critiques remains committed to fostering inclusive, international dialogue. Let us keep expanding our shared understanding and deepening our appreciation of performance in all its diverse and evolving forms.
Photo: Closing scene from The Hungarian State Theatre’s performance-documentary 1978. Timisoara, Micostagiune Showcase, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of the Festival
*Savas Patsalidis is Professor Emeritus in Theatre Studies at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has also taught at the Drama School of the National Theatre of Northern Greece, the Hellenic Open University and the graduate program of the Theatre Department of Aristotle University. He is the author of fourteen books on theatre and performance criticism/theory and co-editor of another thirteen. His two-volume study, Theatre, Society, Nation (2010), was awarded first prize for best theatre study of the year. In 2022 his book-length study Comedy’s Encomium: The Seriousness of Laughter, was published by University Studio Press. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Hellenic Association of Theatre and Performing Arts Critics, a member of the curators’ team of Forest International Festival (organized by the National Theatre of Northern Greece), and the editor-in-chief of Critical Stages, the journal of the International Association of Theatre Critics.
