Does shock value work for art and audiences? Have we seen it all? Are we simply over it? Or as the caption above suggests, has too much been made of too little for too long?
Theatre ‘shockers’ will tend to divide audiences and critics alike: some will speak positively about almost anything that makes granny’s hair stand on end whilst others will puff up like indignant turkeys demanding the restitution of “public morality.” But does shock value of necessity produce good theatre? And when we talk about a good theatre – does that only mean a good night out and lots of laughs? Or can it also include notions of social responsibility, politics, war and human suffering?
