Eyre extols `the unique virtues' of the Theatre

Professor Richard Eyre (pictured above) used his first lecture as Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre to discuss criticisms and prejudices about the theatre, reviewing changes and threats to its future, and describing the qualities which make it unique from other art forms. He began his lecture, entitled `Michelangelo's Snowman', on 7 February, by expressing his reservations about theorising: `Talks and lectures make the thing we are cherishing, the theatre, seem like a butterfly in the hands of a clumsy giant.' For him the attraction to theatre lies in its distinct properties such as space, light, music, storytelling, and its reliance on plot and metaphor.' Unlike other media, such as film, which is robust by comparison, the theatre `depends on the whole audience begin willing to give their constant consent' and thus on the interaction between performer and spectators. It is an art form which must be seen to be appreciated since `theatre, even at its very greatest, is ephemeral. It lives on only in the memory melting away after the event'. Professor Eyre, Director of the National Theatre since 1988, introduced an analogy, recalling a story about a snowman built by Michelangelo which was said to have been his greatest work. `Of course you had to have been there to have seen it. It was as frail, as mutable, as vulnerable as a theatre performance.' It is unreproduceable elements of theatre, its liveness and uniqueness, which make it such a powerful medium. Change in theatre, he said, is more an evolution of content than form, because irrespective of technological advances theatre relies primarily on human relationships and the need to tell each other stories. As long as theatre continues to tell stories with power and relevance to the way that we lead our lives, and to entertain and enlarge the imagination, he will not mourn its decline. Professor Eyre concluded by describing three virtues necessary in any successful pieces of theatre—faith, hope, and charity. Faith that what you are doing is worth doing, hope that this faith will be corroborated by the public, and charity, in the sense of love, for those who work with you, to keep this exasperatingly difficult medium alive. His second lecture, `Misdirection', will be held at 5 p.m. on 28 February at St Catherine's College.