Some people often make the mistake by believing that Street Theatre is a relatively new thing. But performances outdoors have been going on for many years. As far back as the Greeks, amphitheatres were used to give the ideal place for performance, (they were later adapted by the Romans). They could seat around 20,000 people - like Epidavros, Greece, which is still used today - and the mass crowd would watch the performance with the sun and surrounding landscape as a backdrop. (Although it could be argued that this form of theatre wasn't a 'typical' outdoor performance as plays were performed, compared to something 'spectacular.' Eg, a carnival). But the face of street theatre is changing and new and imaginative approaches to the style are coming into play.

Since the dawn of the cinema, theatre attendance dropped. The visual effects and sounds created something new for the public and the theatre suffered. Then came along television that took away the audiences for the cinema. Finally, videos/DVDs were released and there was no real need to go to a cinema because they knew that the film would soon be on television or video/DVD. Audiences were becoming trapped into the illusion of the screen.

This prompted theatre to change. New ideas of theatre appeared from people like Brecht and Stanislavski, and new styles grew, eg 'physical theatre.' (Devised by Dance and Visual 8). People began to move back into the theatre and realised what they were missing: a live performance where the audience could fully appreciate the actors skills and abilities and the designers sets and costumes. Theatre then continued to grow outside, allowing more skills in the performances, ranging from jugglers and acrobatics, to large puppets and parades. Scripts were minimal and creativeness grew.

Outdoor theatre can be placed where ever needed. Some work well in a castle court yard, (a traditional play such as Macbeth, would be ideal). Others work well in a park, eg the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster. Here, the audience is lead around the park to where the next scene will take place. This allows plenty of time to set up scenes and the backdrop of the park can be used as part of the set. In 'Knights of the Round Table,' the small lake in the park was used for the arm of the Lady of the Lake to rise out with the sword. (Underwater electronics and arm were used).

Do sporting events, political rallies and street traders act as performers? In a sense they do. They have already planned out what they are going to say and are intending to do. If there is someone there to witness it, it could be classed as performance.

At college, our Theatre Studies group attempted three styles of street theatre to see how the public would react. Our first performance was meant to be an improvisation and we did not tell each other our characters. We were told to all meet outside a library by a bus stop. Those inside the library clearly saw what we were doing and those walking by either watched for a while or wondered off curiously. Characters included were someone who suddenly had a religious experience, someone singing loudly, a run-away and a businessman. Our businessman would stand around waiting for a bus. When it arrived, he stepped aboard, asked out loudly for directions to London (even though we where in Blackpool) and got upset and angry. Some of the passengers laughed away at his following jokes, others just were not too sure as to what was going on. (In the end, he boarded three buses).

Our next performance was to act as individual characters in the town centre. No one really took any notice of what we were doing. (Walking across a pelican crossing time and time again, shouting out that someone had fallen off Blackpool Tower, staring at people and pointing at them, and so on.) Finally, we recreated the Nativity in a contemporary fashion. (With a farmer who falls in love with the Angel Gabriel and three French, not-so-wise-but-horny men). People walked by and didn't pay much attention.

We concluded that the public is not always aware that a performance is taking place, therefore as performers, we should be aware as not to scare and threaten them. (Young children in particular tend to frighten easily). Street theatre can be about taking risks - providing you know what you are doing. Although we never intended to harm the Christian Faith, some of the public might have found some scenes slightly offensive. But, we hoped that they saw the good humour that we had intended to show. Finally, location is very important as to the audience reaction. We performed a few weeks before Christmas in the town centre. The weather was very cold and shoppers were not in the best of moods. We thought that a bit of theatre might have cheered them up - but obviously not in this case. In Summer time however, with all the colours of a hot day, things could be different.

One thing we learnt is that no matter what you do, you cannot control the weather. We were lucky that it wasn't raining or snowing heavily. Winter time is not the best season to perform in public. You cannot guarantee that the public will be about. It would have been better if we where inside the main shopping centre, Hounds Hill. We asked for permission from the owners, but they didn't like the idea of performers inside their building. Why, we don't really know for sure. Instead, our Nativity was performed opposite Marks & Spencer, by the Winter Gardens. Although there were many people walking about, we didn't attract that much attention. We performed before lunch time and we all agreed later that we should have left it until later on during the day when there would have been more people about.

With all forms of outdoor theatre, things have to be big. In a theatre, a simple conversation will be heard by the audience. A small gesture of the hands or any facial expression will be noted. However, performing outdoors is very different. To draw the audiences attention, gestures must be big and be seen. There could be some distance between performer and spectator, and so they need to see what is happening. Any vocal work must be kept to a minimum and everything should relay on visual work. Too much conversation will take away the attention, and the performers voices may be lost in the crowds. This is a mistake that we made. We relied heavily on a script and paid no effort to anything visual. Our costumes where dull and we weren't very loud.

Street theatre is forever growing and more people are getting use to the art. Anything from carnivals and festivals, to small public performances and even to the 'Gathering,' where role-play fanatics take on their favourite fantasy characters and hit it each other with fibre-glass weapons, are becoming a part of our everyday lives. It's free, fun, and big. Where street theatre will go into the future, we can never be certain. But we know that it is becoming more popular and growing with new directors, talent and fresh, creative ideas.

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