Happy World Theatre Day! I got my start in the arts working in theatre and I often miss those days. It’s what inspired my second Cross novel, The Dead Hamlets, which features theatre ghosts, Shakespearean spirits, mischievous faerie, an undead Christopher Marlowe and more.

Reflecting on the day, I realize many of the most magical moments in my lives have happened in theatres. Working on a production of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd in London, Ont., where the music changed my very DNA; being caught in a storm in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra at the Barbican in England that was as real as any other despite it just being actors on a stage with ropes; remaining mystified to this day by enigmatic judges appearing out of nowhere in a production of Kafka’s The Trial in London, England; and so many more!

Theatre is one of the oldest art forms and continues to persist because it is perhaps the most social. Where else can we gather in a communal space and participate in the same shared imaginative experience? Where else is the audience so necessary to the artistic experience? There’s a creative energy or perhaps a creative relationship that takes place between the performers and the audience, where the space becomes alive with a new world that transcends our own if only temporarily.

Theatre is often a place for working out ideas in that community, from the ancient Greek tragedies and comedies to the present day. I’ll never forget the production of David Mamet’s Oleanna I saw at the Grand Theatre in London, Ont., where the audience engaged in a lively debate after the show about the merits of political correctness (this was before woke culture had emerged). Is this any different from, say, Lsysistrata by Aristophanes or The Doll House by Ibsen?

And theatre remains one of the most important areas for academic studies, not only because of its historical context but also because theatre has a strong history of formal experimentation and political messages.

The influence of theatre is seen on other mediums as well. While film has largely taken the place of theatre in our culture, it remains heavily influenced by theatre. And many of the most popular films are adaptations of plays. Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a favourite film and play of many, including myself. Even the world of theatre often finds itself immortalized in film, such as Shakespeare in Love — which was sold out when I saw it the first time.

Much applause for all the theatre folk who bring magic to a world that desperately needs it. Join them in a theatre in your community and help create and experience that magic.