The theater as a refuge for audiovisuals: major film titles filled Corrientes Street

What the fuck is a movie, now? , asked Quentin Tarantino earlier this year in a live interview with the audience at the Sundance Film Festival. Wearing a black wool hat and speaking in a fast-paced, dizzying way, as if he were in one of his films, the director of Kill Bill dared to declare the death of cinema. He said, among other things, that "2019 was the last fucking year for cinema," that now a theatrical release is a pointless exercise, only to see those same films on streaming platforms two weeks later. And he immediately returned to a discussion that dates back more than a hundred years: he compared the world of screens to theaters.

His defense of live art remained just as forceful, highlighting the fact that in theater there's no recording, no cell phones, and even referring to a certain dominance of the audience: "You own the audience for that time. That time is yours. You have it in the palm of your hand. And it's not just about making art, it's about surprising, it's about providing a great night, making it worthwhile for them, and that, to me, is fucking exciting." And so, one of the most prominent directors in contemporary cinema announced his decision to begin writing and directing plays.

In the face of the deepening crisis in the audiovisual industry, the theater seems to be becoming a refuge and a refuge for artists and producers. This phenomenon is happening worldwide: one of this season's top-grossing Broadway hits is "Good Night, and Good Luck ," starring George Clooney as the steadfast CBS newsman. Set in the 1950s, the show features live close-ups and archival footage broadcast on giant screens.

But in addition to super-famous figures, Broadway's most commercial theatrical offerings are immersive shows, which include the use of virtual reality. The musicals Smash and Boop , as well as the theme park-style show Stranger Things: The First Shadow , attempt to theatricalize content born on television, with immersive video design. Another example is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , a show in which the audience, far from turning off their cell phones, has to download an app and enter QR codes so that the figures in the program are seen in three dimensions and the images that appear on stage are extended on their cell phone screens, with interactive proposals.

That is to say, whether through the use of technology to generate virtual and augmented realities and immersive scenes, the inclusion of popular figures, or the transfer of themes and titles that originated in film and television, the most commercial theater in the United States is experiencing a strong presence of the language and forms of audiovisual media on the stage.

In Argentina, the situation is similar. While there is a notable gap in technological development and infrastructure for theme park-style shows, the current trend shows the arrival of famous film titles in the theater, as well as starring performances in the theaters by figures made famous on television. Some examples: Florencia Peña presents Pretty Woman at the Astral Theater, in the musical version of the film that made Julia Roberts a megastar; Julio Chávez performs The Whale at Paseo La Plaza. Although the original piece is a play, the title was made famous by the film that gave Brendan Fraser an Oscar; Nicolás Vázquez invites all fans of the classic Rocky. to go see the film in its theatrical version: “Come see it because you are going to see the film,” he repeats in interviews and in its staging, which is immersive and with a great multimedia display, the classic staircase of the Philadelphia Museum of Art appears, on which the boxer trains.

In a similar case to The Whale , Dinner for Fools began as a play, became a successful film, released in 1998, and is now being presented in Buenos Aires with the performances of Mike Amigorena, Martín Bossi and Laurita Fernández, in an attempt to recover the same theatrical success achieved in 2000 by Guillermo Francella and Adrián Suar, now producers of the show. At the Gran Rex, a show of characters floating through the air, screens and bubbles among the audience is offered with the premiere of The Little Mermaid , a great production that attracts adults and children who have in their memories one of the best Disney films, dating back to 1989.

Two more examples come from the cinema, but from a less Hollywood and more "auteur" approach: Druk , starring Pablo Echarri, Juan Gil Navarro, Carlos Portaluppi, and Osqui Guzmán, is an adaptation of Another Round, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2021. And The Boss of the Boss , starring Diego Peretti and Federico D'Elia, is also an adaptation of Lars von Trier's Danish film The Boss of It All . These last two shows are directed by Javier Daulte.

“What's in crisis is audiovisual media, not theater. It's an industry that in some parts of the world has moved mountains and mountains of money and generated very powerful economies. Now it's in free fall, provoking statements like those made by Tarantino, as if he'd discovered gunpowder. Those of us who make theater have always known: theater is the only solid platform. The live event is the only solid platform. This was talked about, discussed, and proven true again during the pandemic. The entire world was thinking about how to replace theater, and no one could do it,” says Daulte, who, in addition to writing and directing, has developed a series of theoretical articles on contemporary theater.

“Theater is capable of absorbing everything. Neither technology nor anything else will affect it, because theater won't lose its nature, which is to require a live actor. I think the only thing that can sometimes happen is that this great show ends up becoming just another theme park attraction, Disney-style. Then, in some way, it ceases to be theater and becomes just that: a theme park, which uses elements of theater for some of its attractions. But in the meantime, the only thing that will happen with these shows is that they will give theater more tools, but there will be no resource or technology that can replace the desire to tell a beautiful story and to tell it well,” Daulte adds.

Body and narrative seem to be the core that sustains theater throughout its more than 2,600 years of history, considering its origins in Greece. Jorge Dubatti, PhD in History and Theory of the Arts, researcher, and professor, explains, “The presence of the body is so pregnant, so powerful, that it acts as a catalyst. No matter how transversal its presence is, that presence is always catalytic.” Dubatti develops and expands the concept of conviviality to speak of theater, that is, the union of time and space between audience and artists, “its uniqueness is the event, poiesis , the territorial gathering, of the body present.” He adds: “One of the most beautiful things about theater is that it includes the spectacle of life. We are going to see theater live. We are not going to see just languages, we are going to see how bodies behave phenomenologically and affect each other in gatherings; it is the structure of convivial culture.”

From this perspective, no matter how many technologies, figures, and mainstream titles theater incorporates, its core will always be the same, whether in a theater without technology and for 20 spectators, or in an immersive space for more than 500 people. However, renowned producer Carlos Rottemberg raised the alarm about a problem that, in his words, is already occurring.

“Industrial theater is in crisis. I use this term to refer to the large productions that are staged in theater buildings that cost millions of dollars and generate similar costs. These venues present shows that historically have been sustained by artists who became popular on television. These large productions, which generate many jobs and with six or seven performances a week, are strengthened by the connection between the audience and these figures. This has always been the case. To keep the economy going, to meet the obligations of our workforces, to keep our costs paid, we depend on big hits,” explains the producer, who has been in business for 50 years and owns seven theater buildings.

Thus, the crisis in film and television directly affects commercial theater. The absence of fiction on broadcast television has a direct impact on the theater schedule. "Young artists have a huge problem; no one knows them, selfies don't pay for groceries. If fiction doesn't recover on television, large-scale theater will also collapse," he says.

Theater, an ancient art form, seems resilient to everything, even a pandemic. But the downturn in one industry also means the downfall of another in a relentless domino effect.