Importance of theatre

The importance of theatre in the convicts lives is very evident. The theatre for most of the convicts allows them to play and become a person they are not and allows them to feel free from their world and into someone else's.

In Act 2 Scene 5, the power of the theatre and its abilty to change the personality of the convicts is evident. After Ross enters and tries to embrass the convicts by pushing them to the ground, by being nothing worse than dogs.

When Liz Morden and Sideways come out through the chaos with lines from "the recurieting officer". This gives them a way to rebel about what major ross is doing to their fellow actors. This is important as it is more insulting than simply complaining as it gives them the more power and swaps the attention from ross to them. This enrages ross as the power and status has swapped places. This makes theatre power and important as without it in this scene the convicts would be humilated without a way out or a place where they could not be themselves.