Serial (Theatrical) Performances

This chapter explores theatrical seriality through the lens of media theory and mediatization, proposing a reassessment of theatre’s role in the broader field of seriality studies. While traditionally overlooked, theatre is here examined as a site where serialised forms are both historically rooted and contemporarily reimagined. Through a series of exemplary cases, the analysis traces a trajectory from the proto-serial structures of ancient theatre to intermedial and post-serial formats that have gained prominence particularly in pandemic and post-pandemic contexts. The distinction between “as seriality” and “is seriality” serves to highlight how theatre has engaged with serial logic adapting its dramaturgical frameworks in dialogue with the affordances of digital platforms and social media. Rather than replicating audiovisual models, theatrical seriality reveals itself as a specific mode of narrative articulation, capable of reshaping audience engagement and redefining liveness within contemporary cultural production.