“Do you wanna play a game?”. Space and levels of audience's involvement in the scenic representation of the horror genre

Abstract

Theatre, very often excluded in studies on genres usually called non-mimetic (horror, the fantastic, science fiction), can, however, afford mechanisms that fall beyond the reach of other media such as film or narrative fiction. Specifically, horror can benefit from the breaking of the fourth wall and the integration of the audience into the scenic area. This article traces, both in theory and in practice, the degrees of this assimilation to the show and the possibilities that follow for the recreation of horror on the stage.