I’d like to talk about my close friend, Clara, who is an absolute theatre enthusiast. We met at university a few years ago, and right from the start, I realised that stage plays were basically her biggest passion in life.
She’s drawn to quite a broad range of productions, to be honest. On one hand, she adores classic West End-style musicals with grand orchestral scores and elaborate set designs. But on the other hand, she’s equally thrilled by minimalist, experimental dramas in tiny fringe theatres, where the actors are performing just a metre away from the front row. Whenever a touring theatre troupe visits our city, she's inevitably the first in line to secure tickets.
As for how often she goes, I’d say she manages to catch at least two or three shows a month. If she's travelling, she’ll always plan her itinerary around what’s showing locally. She even volunteers at a community playhouse on weekends just to immerse herself in that creative atmosphere.
I think she’s so passionate about it because nothing compares to the raw energy of a live show. Clara always says that on screen, everything is edited and perfected, whereas on stage, every single performance is unique. There’s a palpable connection between the cast and the audience that you simply can’t replicate at home on a television or a mobile phone. She loves the spontaneity of it all, the fact that every line and gesture happens in real time, flaws and all.