“Theatre in Cambridge is stuck fifty years in the past.”

That is how I approached my friends last May when gathering a team to set up a new Cambridge theatre magazine, The Fifth Wall. I don’t actually subscribe to that radical view anymore. Moreover, not all of the people on our team are supportive of post-modernism or the post-dramatic theatre, and the ADC is probably much more dynamic than it looks. But this sentiment, even if it is a mistake, does exist and it must have some ground. Varsity and ADC corridors aside, there are not many platforms for in-depth analysis of performances and for discussion on what theatre should be. There are not that many places for thespians to self-organise. To try and fix that, we have set up our magazine.

But what is this fifth wall?

Well, start with the fourth one. It’s a concept introduced by Molière and it denotes the imaginary wall between the stage and the audience. What do you actually see when you sit in most old theatres? A “proscenium stage”? No, you see an aquarium for the drama, a box with a side removed. But in the 20th century, Artaud and Grotovsky broke this fourth wall. Drama now spills into the audience, spectators are themselves part of the set, if not the action. Immersive theatre and street performances have redefined the identity of the actors. But something is wrong. We don’t see much site-specific staging or “poor theatre” – in London or elsewhere. And it is the fifth wall that blocks the view. It’s the wall in our heads that obstructs our perception of the modern theatre techniques. The very same wall stands between the small group of enthusiastic thespians and the wider audience that probably knows one of the names mentioned above. This is the very same wall that we want to take apart.

To begin with, we want to fix information asymmetries: let everyone know what theatre can be. To achieve that, we have loads of theory-based articles, and we will talk of the role of theatre in society and what new forms of performance art exist. We support shows and theatre societies that uphold the same values as we do, through reviews, promo interviews and the like. This is just a couple of the things planned: we are open to all, we want to hear your opinions.

After all, theatre is great fun. And if you don’t know that yet, our magazine will show you why.

The Fifth Wall magazine is holding their launch event on Tuesday, 13th, at the Union Bar.