Scenography, spectacle and the body of the spectator

This article addresses the operation of scenographic spectacle from the perspective of the spectator in order to consider the way the body responds to scenography. The denigration of spectacle has often been founded on its appeal to the body and the way it produces pleasurable but ultimately empty experiences. However, I propose that a reconsideration of the body as a site of perception and reception in scenographic performance might reveal the complex relationships between spectators, performance and the world. In this article, I analyse my own response to two performances; Royal de Luxe's Sea Odyssey and Verdenteatret's The Telling Orchestra in the light of theories of kinaesthetic empathy and spatial production. In addressing the alleged gap between feeling and meaning which scenographic spectacle appears to produce, it is the interconnection of the phenomenal and social aspects of the spectating body that reveals the potential for resisting dominant modes of social production.