| Summary: | As the traditional dichotomy opposing stage and audience is often disrupted on the contemporary stage, a profound subversion of the meaning of the phrase “taking place” occurs when it is applied to the theatrical event. If etymologically, “theatre” refers to a place dedicated to seeing, the very object of perception now finds itself altered in unprecedented ways. In this respect, the National Theatre of Scotland illustrates this emancipation from the conventional space of the stage: “without walls,” it is a structure that is not located in any building. It produces innovating plays and performances hand in hand with existing Scottish companies and building-based theatres. Off-stage installations, site-specific performances, or even non-places are becoming common features in contemporary plays such as the Ignition project (2013). However, even as blogs, wikis and other such social media tend to become ubiquitous, the very notion of what is actually “taking place” during the theatrical event is now radically questioned as theatre is gradually dis-located into the cyberspace. The article focuses on some examples of “techno-poetic” creations and nomadic performances to highlight the ways in which the most recent media environments contribute to the emergence of new communities of spectators or rather players or co-creators.
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