The Limits of Theory: Academic versus Professional Understanding of Theatre Problems

Abstract

The exponential growth of ‘theoretical’ approaches to theatre in the last twenty years has given rise to a vast body of literature and a swag of highly influential ‘command metaphors’. In this article, Julian Meyrick describes and analyzes the rise of such theories, contrasting academic understanding of theatre with the more experiential problem-solving of the profession. He argues that sophisticated ‘theoretical’ approaches to the theatre too often preclude or traduce the thinking of artists themselves, presenting practical concerns as epiphenomenal or untutored. This, in turn, points to important short-circuits in some academic takes on theatre which need modifying if ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ are once again to feed into each other in a meaningful way. Julian Meyrick Is currently an Associate Director and Literary Adviser at Melbourne Theatre Company, and an Honorary Associate with the Drama Program, La Trobe University. His production for the Melbourne Workers' Theatre, Who's Afraid of the Working Class? attracted numerous awards, and toured widely in Australia. He has published in the areas of arts policy, the theory/practice nexus, and post-1945 Australian theatre. His book on Sydney's Nimrod Theatre, See How It Runs: Nimrod and the New Wave was published by Currency Press in 2002.