What is Metatheater in literature?
Metatheater, also known as “theater about theater,” refers to a form of drama or performance that draws attention to the artificiality of the theatrical medium itself. In metatheater, the audience is often reminded that they are watching a performance, and the actors may break the fourth wall to directly address the audience or comment on their own performance.
Metatheater can take many different forms, from plays that explore the nature of theatrical illusion, to performances that deliberately blur the line between actor and character, to shows that self-consciously reference other plays or theatrical traditions.
One of the earliest examples of metatheater is Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which includes a play-within-a-play performed by a group of amateur actors. Other notable examples of metatheater include Luigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” and Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.”
Metatheater can be seen as a way for artists to challenge the conventions of traditional theater, and to explore the complex relationship between art, reality, and representation.
