Hospitality and Throwing Away the Theatre Rule Book

Theatre buildings can be intimidating spaces. The conventions, the etiquette, the unspoken rules – all can create barriers for people who do not see themselves reflected in traditional theatre audiences.

Rethinking Welcome

At Ovalhouse, we began to question everything about how we welcomed audiences. Why do we insist on silence? Why do we sit in the dark? Why can't children move around? Each "rule" we examined revealed assumptions about who theatre is for.

A Different Kind of Space

We experimented with performances where audiences could come and go, where food was shared, where the boundaries between performers and audience became porous. Some purists were horrified. But the communities we were trying to reach started coming.

What We Learned

• Hospitality begins before the show – in how we communicate, in our pricing, in the faces people see when they arrive
• Flexibility is not compromise – it is recognition that there are many ways to experience art
• The building is not neutral – its architecture, its location, its history all send messages about who belongs

Beyond Tolerance

True hospitality goes beyond tolerance or accommodation. It means genuinely wanting the presence of people who are different from us, believing that their participation will enrich the experience for everyone.

Throwing away the rule book does not mean having no rules. It means being intentional about which rules serve the art and the community, and which merely preserve the comfort of those who have always felt at home in these spaces.