Theatre
The Theatricality of the Plague There is a direct correspondence between the theatre and the plague, St Augustine argues in The City of
God. While the plague kills without destroying the organs, the theatre makes changes in the mind and the body of the individuals but without killing. We are all currently exposed to the power of this change; theatre is the tool to observe how these changes are produced and in what they consist of. To observe these changes, it is necessary to extend our experience of theatre beyond the limits of entertainment and representation. I shall present two examples of theatrical moments that have happened during this pandemic that shows theatre’s power to make a difference: the Urbi et Orbi which is the blessing by the pope and the ongoing protests in the US and in the rest of the world. However, I would like to start from plagues from the past through the study of manuscripts. Emma Hardiman in her article ‘Medieval Materiality: the Multisensory Performance in Late-Medieval Manuscripts’ points out the theatricality in the use of manuscripts during plagues of the Middle Ages. She analyses pages of manuscripts whose illuminated images are peculiarly deteriorated because of their being repeatedly touched and kissed while praying. Through the haptic experience of these manuscripts, the readers could experience God who was believed to live in those pages which were treated as though they were alive. Indeed, once they were alive, given they are made of organic materials — for example, the pages are made of calfskin — they became alive again by absorbing the readers’ prayers who survived until nowadays in the marks they left on the surface of the manuscripts. This power of the manuscript was valued during the Black Death during the 14th Century since believers kept praying not only for being saved by having direct contact with God but also for surviving in the form of marks left on the surface of the manuscript. Even during the ongoing pandemic, the Catholic church has given us a powerful example of its theatricality. It is 27th March 2020, the pope is alone on the rainy St Peter’s Square, walking slowly towards the Basilica where he will celebrate Ubi et Orbi – a blessing to the city of Rome and the whole world. While the Pope walks over the stairs to reach the parvis, we hear chants from the wide-open Basilica overlooking the Square which gives the impression of having transformed into a huge musical instrument. There is a moment of silence, the Pope starts the blessing and is followed by an acapella excerpt from the Gospel by Saint Mark which resonates across the empty Square.
Miracle of the Cross at the Bridge of S. Lorenzo - Giovanni Bellini
30
