The Pleasure of the Spectator

Abstract

Brecht's optimism: for him, pleasure and knowledge go hand in hand; knowing and enjoying are but one. … He uses the word pleasure, but he also, impudently, refers to sensual pleasure [jouissance], which means much more. One can say almost anything about the spectator's pleasure, and the most contradictory formulas can appear valid: the pleasure of liking and of disliking; the pleasure of understanding and of not understanding; the pleasure of maintaining an intellectual distance and of being carried away by one's emotions; the pleasure of following a story ("and what happens next?" the child asks) and of looking at a tableau; the pleasure of laughing and of crying; the pleasure of dreaming and of knowing; the pleasure of enjoying oneself and of suffering; the pleasure of desiring and of being protected from passions. … One can continue forever this little game of oppositions'.

Why Theatre? Perspectives From Indian Theatre Artistes in the Context of Nāṭyaśāstra

“…This concept is also looked upon as a significant theory for communication which calls the communicators Sahridayas Adhikary (2010). Ubersfeld et al (1982) elaborates that "Theatrical pleasure is not a solitary pleasure, but is reflected on and reverberates through others; it spreads like a train of gunpowder or suddenly congeals." After years of practice, theatre has become a way of life for most of the theatre practitioners now.…”

‘Argue with Us!’: Audience Co-creation through Post-Performance Discussions

“…The meaning-making process experienced by an audience when confronted by an onstage sign 'is the very source of theatrical pleasure'. 22 One audience performer noted: I liked the bed, either as a bed or as another object in the centre of the stage because I think it continually symbolized one of Henry's crucial problems: his problem of maintaining the male line, his obsession with it. So even when the bed is not a bed, it's still there symbol izing that issue.…”