Is Drama a Grandma?

Have you been to a cinema? You better say you have or other people will be wondering which era you come from. Yet, it is normal if you never been to a theatre or even heard of it. Thus, this makes me wonder, “Is theatre outdated?” Well, I would not say that it is out-of-date, but rather ancient - as ancient as the Greek (Greek is famous for its theatre about tragedy). That's why I call it a "grandma".

Theatre has existed as early as the ancient Greece.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word “outdated” is defined as “No longer useful because of being old-fashioned.” Now, let us review the question again. Is theatre outdated? I would say both “yes” and “no”. Most modern people may prefer cinema to theatre. Some even perceive the emergence of cinema as the death of theatre. However, there’s still necessity for the existence of theatre.

To begin with, modern generation practically chooses cinema over theatre. In my opinion, some of the factors are the love for novelty, lack of promotion and convenience, as well as the power of money.

Undeniably, it is a human nature to be attracted to new things and ideas. We love novelty. Thus, when cinema appeared, we welcomed it with open hands. Furthermore, due to the advancement of technology, cinema movies have better sound effects, accompanied with interesting computer graphics.

In addition, theatre’s play does less promotion than cinema’s movie. Before a movie makes its appearance on the big screen, it is usually advertised widely throughout many countries around the world, through any mass media ranging from newspaper to the billboard. On the other hand, theatre keeps a low profile in advertising its play. For instance, in Malaysia, theatre’s play is usually promoted through posters and certain newspapers only.

Moreover, not every country has a theatre, whereas cinemas can be seen in the shopping malls in most countries. Thus, theatre also loses to cinema due to its lack of convenience. Worst still, play only occur in one place at a time. On the contrary, pre-recorded movie can be watched in 100 or even 10000 cinemas throughout the world at the same time!

Besides that, modern people prefers going to cinema than theatre because cinema tickets are affordable and relatively stable. On the other hand, theatre’s tickets vary due to certain factors. For instance, William Shakespeare’s plays are normally more expensive than other plays written by not-so-famous playwrights. Theatre tickets may cost as high as RM200 to as low as RM 0.00.

However, we cannot deny the importance of the existence of theatre. It is a training ground of the actors. Whether we accept it or not, theatre is the place where a star is discovered and born. Without theatre, the film industries cannot progress well too.

Now, what do you think? Is theatre out-of-date? Theatre, like grandma, maybe old-fashioned, but it is still useful. Likewise, old people is often neglected and regarded as dull. However, we always forget that the old is precious as they possess priceless experiences and wisdom. Perhaps, the saying, “Honor the old, teach the young” is applicable to theatre and cinema too.

One day, theatre will rock the world. Just wait!