theatre

Theatre refers to the art of staging live performances as well as the venues in which they take place. It encompasses a wide range of forms, including plays, musicals, opera, and experimental works, usually intended for an audience that watches as events unfold in real time. A production is created through collaboration among writers, directors, actors, designers, and technicians, and hinges on elements such as script, direction, acting, scenery, lighting, sound, and costume.

The practice has ancient roots in ritual and storytelling across cultures. Greek tragedy and Roman drama informed Western theatre, while medieval and Renaissance forms broadened the repertoire. Non-European traditions such as Noh, Kabuki, and Chinese opera also contributed to theatre's development. In modern times, the theatre has diversified into realism, naturalism, avant-garde work, and community and educational productions.

Theatre spaces vary from traditional proscenium theatres to thrust, arena, and black-box venues, each shaping performance and spectator experience. The term also covers training, criticism, festivals, and repertory companies that sustain ongoing practice. As a live, collaborative art form, theatre emphasizes immediacy and interaction with an audience, while continually evolving with new technologies, design approaches, and social contexts.