My, widzowie // «We, the people»

This article discusses the book Theatre and Citizenship: The History of a Practice by David Wiles (Cambridge 2011), which inspires reflection on the historical and current role of theater practice in the promotion of civic ideas. The critical analysis is initiated by questions about the changing nature of social bonds in the age of digital communication. In the perspective of today’s atomized society, the recognition of the communal character of the aesthetic and ethical experience of theater appears somewhat archaic. However, it is important from a historical point of view, demonstrating the sources of beliefs about theatricality, which have determined audience expectations of the performing arts to this day. Wiles’s historical presentations are an inspiring starting point for a critical discussion on the politicality of the theater and the significance of its institutional organisation.