21^ST CENTURY THEATER – REGRESS OR PROGRESS?

Theater as such is mostly defined through a relationship between play and observation. Such interplay results in a final product with either lasting or fleeting spatial form, and such spatial form ensues from a broadly understood function it is meant to fulfill. Therefore, the aesthetics of stage objects will involve the shape of the building as well as the stage pictures that are created in it and in its factual or significative proximity. To put it in simple terms, present-day global trends in theater construction seem to be headed in two directions. The first one involves standard solutions for the stage layout in a representative facility. They are addressed to the majority of audiences. The second trend is a form of relationship between the areas of play and observation. It is an embodiment of the creative idea of the people of theater, and, oftentimes, it is an outcome of advanced and complex creative ideas combined with many years of experience. It is an ambitious theater, in many circumstances bordering on an experiment. The discussion of aesthetics of theater facilities and stage layouts was conducted on the basis of judgments expressed by Władysław Tatarkiewicz and Umberto Eco. Despite being seemingly different, they are generally similar.