Digital Theatre Experiments in Latvia: The Case of Audio Productions

The year 2020 marks a time when theatre changed: the spread of the global pandemic forced theatres to close their doors, while, at the same time, opening various windows for new digital forms of performance. In Latvia, too, theatre-makers started to explore the various possibilities of digitalization and e-performances, from live translations of productions played in empty theatre halls to interactive digital projects, from Zoom performances to production recordings adapted for the special conditions of the pandemic. It is clear that the lockdown only speeded up the use of technology and the emergence of new digital theatre forms, such as audio-walks, and also altered the perception of spectators, who were invited to experience theatre through their mobile phones, computers, TVs and even mail boxes. In the present paper, the author addresses the topic of digital theatre experience in Latvia during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the cases of audio productions, from immersive phone-in productions, whereby the listener determines the outcome of the plot, to audio walks that introduce serious forms of social, political, economic or ecological discourse. While, historically, the genre of audio production invokes images of outdated radio theatre productions, nowadays, and especially in the context of the pandemic, audio productions have evolved as a broad and complex form of theatre which reaches the spectator without any physical contact and uses a range of digital tools accessible to any modern human being. Regardless of the form chosen, in the case of audio productions the listener participates in the performance process by following simple technical commands. The present article represents a small contribution to the ongoing discussion of audio performances and their reception in the context of the pandemic theatre experience in Latvia. The researcher uses a semiotic approach when analyzing the signs used by directors in different audio productions, as well as phenomenology when looking at the different aims and means of perceiving the audio productions.